Espinoza v. Broadway Pizza & Restaurant Corp.
- George Daniels
- 1:17-cv-07995
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Espinoza v. Broadway Pizza, Judge Daniels adopted a recommendation awarding Jairo Espinoza damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs after defendants defaulted.
Jairo Espinoza was awarded specified wage-related damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs. Broadway Pizza & Restaurant Corp., Little West Inc., Mohammed Elhassani, Ali Tizini, and Mokhtar C. Chantit were ordered to pay those amounts after the court adopted the damages recommendation following their default.
What happened
In Espinoza v. Broadway Pizza & Restaurant Corp., Jairo Espinoza sought unpaid minimum and overtime wages and other damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. The defendants did not answer, appear, or file a motion concerning the second amended complaint, and the court previously granted Espinoza’s request for a default judgment.
A magistrate judge recommended awarding Espinoza $162,610.58 in compensatory damages, an equal amount in liquidated damages, $40 for tools of the trade, $10,000 in statutory damages, interest, $10,070 in attorneys’ fees, and $917.60 in costs. No party objected to that recommendation.
Judge George B. Daniels reviewed the recommendation for clear error and adopted it in full. The court ordered that final judgment be entered for the listed damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
The detailed version
- Espinoza v. Broadway Pizza & Restaurant Corp. · No. 1:17-cv-07995
- George Daniels
- Mar. 31, 2022
Background
Jairo Espinoza sued Broadway Pizza & Restaurant Corp., Little West Inc., Mohammed Elhassani, Ali Tizini, and Mokhtar C. Chantit, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and New York Labor Law (NYLL). He sought unpaid minimum and overtime wages, New York “spread of hours” pay for days when he worked more than 10 hours, liquidated damages, damages concerning wage notices and wage statements, prejudgment interest, damages for tools of the trade, attorneys’ fees, and costs. The opinion states that Broadway Pizza & Restaurant Corp. and Little West Inc. were owned by Elhassani, Tizini, and Chantit.
The defendants did not answer, appear, or file a motion concerning the second amended complaint. The court therefore previously granted Espinoza’s motion for default judgment and referred the damages issue to Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker for an inquest, meaning a court proceeding to determine the amount of damages after default.
Report and Recommendation
Magistrate Judge Parker recommended an award consisting of:
- $162,610.58 in compensatory damages, including $460.00 in unpaid regular wages, $147,546.58 in overtime wages, and $14,604.00 in spread-of-hours pay; - $162,610.58 in liquidated damages; - $40.00 in tools-of-the-trade damages; - $10,000 in statutory damages, consisting of $5,000 for wage notices and $5,000 for wage statements; - prejudgment interest at 9% per year on the compensatory damages from December 13, 2014, through entry of judgment; - post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961 from entry of judgment until payment; - $10,070.00 in attorneys’ fees; and - $917.60 in costs.
No party objected to the Report and Recommendation. Because there were no substantive objections, Judge Daniels reviewed the report for clear error, which means an obvious mistake after reviewing the record.
Ruling
The court found no clear error and adopted Magistrate Judge Parker’s Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The court directed that final judgment be entered ordering the defendants to pay the damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs listed above. The opinion’s conclusion prints “$162.610.58” for the prejudgment-interest base, but the surrounding text and the other stated award use $162,610.58.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.