Chong v. Golden 88 Spoon Inc.

Background

Shek Mooi Chong sued Golden 88 Spoon Inc. and other defendants individually and on behalf of similarly situated employees. The action is identified in the order as a case under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal wage-and-hour law.

Court’s Actions

The court vacated its April 6, 2021 order because of a clerical error: that order incorrectly listed Defendant Xinju Zheng as lacking counsel. The court directed the parties to refer to the April 11 order instead.

The court had received a stipulation—a written agreement—proposing voluntary dismissal of Defendant Xueqin Zheng’s claims. It ordered the parties to file a letter by April 13, 2022, explaining whether that dismissal required review under Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, Inc. If such review was required, the parties were ordered to file the required fairness letter.

The court stated that Defendant Yin/Terry Zheng appeared to be proceeding without a lawyer and had not provided a mailing address, telephone number, or email address. The court ordered him to provide that information by April 13, 2022. The court also stated that the corporate defendants, Xueqin Zheng, and Bi Chen had neither retained counsel nor told the court that they would represent themselves. The plaintiff was ordered to inform the court by April 13, 2022, whether she would seek default judgment against those defendants or dismiss them.

Finally, the plaintiff was directed to send the order to Yin/Terry Zheng at the email address supplied by his former counsel, Zhou Wang, and to file proof of service by April 7, 2022.

Disposition and Significance

The court vacated the April 6, 2021 order and issued the stated procedural directives. It did not decide the merits of the wage claims or rule on whether the proposed dismissal was fair. Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. signed the order.