Kim v. Superior Cafe Corp.

Background

Chul Kyu Kim sued Superior Cafe Corp., 1490 Superior Foods Corp., Rasam Almontaser, and defendants identified as Mustaf “Doe,” Jammut “Doe,” and Laji “Doe.” He alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law based on unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, spread-of-hours pay, failures to provide required wage notices and wage statements, and attorney’s fees and costs.

Kim alleged that he worked as a cook at Superior Café from about April 20, 2015, through June 2020. From April 2015 through March 2020, he alleged that he worked 58 hours per week and was paid a weekly cash salary ranging from $1,200 to $1,500. From about March 2020 through June 2020, he alleged that he worked 39 hours per week and was paid $1,500 per week. He alleged that he received no overtime pay and did not receive the required information about his pay or pay statements.

The defendants did not answer, appear, or otherwise respond to the complaint. On July 28, 2021, the court entered a default judgment against them and referred the case to Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger to determine damages. Judge Lehrburger issued a report and recommendation on October 7, 2021. No party objected.

Court’s Analysis

Because no objections were filed, Judge Daniels reviewed the report for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake. He found none and adopted the report in full.

The court agreed with the recommendation to deny spread-of-hours pay. New York law permits that pay for a workday lasting more than 10 hours, but Kim had not alleged that he worked days longer than 10 hours.

The court also agreed that the recoverable employment period began on April 23, 2015, rather than April 20, 2015. The complaint was filed on April 23, 2021. The court explained that the New York Labor Law’s six-year limitations period applied because it allowed at least as much recovery as the federal law for the relevant period, and there were no damages available only under the federal law. Kim therefore could seek damages from April 23, 2015, through June 2020.

Ruling and Award

Judge Daniels adopted Magistrate Judge Lehrburger’s report and awarded Kim $233,646.92 for unpaid overtime wages; $233,646.92 in liquidated damages; $10,000 for violations of the wage-statement and wage-notice requirements; prejudgment interest at the statutory rate of 9%, calculated by the Clerk from September 26, 2017, on the unpaid-overtime award; $8,768.75 in reasonable attorney’s fees; and $782 in costs. The court directed the Clerk to close the relevant motion and noted that another letter motion was moot.