Lemus v. Pezzementi
- Andrew Krause
- 7:15-cv-05592
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Lemus v. Pezzementi, Judge Krause ordered supplemental damages submissions because both sides’ evidence was deficient.
Ramiro Lemus and the defendants, Todd Pezzementi and Northern Tree Service, because the order required both sides to submit additional authenticated evidence and calculations concerning damages.
What happened
In Lemus v. Pezzementi, the court was deciding how much money Ramiro Lemus should receive after the defendants’ default. The court found problems with both sides’ submissions and did not yet decide the damages amount.
The court ordered Lemus to state the exact amount sought for each remaining claim and explain how he calculated it. It also required proper authentication of medical records, support for any pain-and-suffering request, and detailed records supporting attorneys’ fees and costs. Defendants were likewise required to authenticate their payroll records, explain them in a sworn statement, and provide copies of the referenced tax statements.
Judge Andrew E. Krause ordered the parties to serve and file supplemental submissions by July 1, 2022. The order did not award a specific amount of damages and stated that Lemus could not recover under the New York Workers’ Compensation Law theory identified in an earlier order.
The detailed version
- Lemus v. Pezzementi · No. 7:15-cv-05592
- Andrew Krause
- June 2, 2022
Background
The court held an inquest—a proceeding to determine damages—after the defendants’ default. The court reviewed Lemus’s submission seeking damages and the defendants’ opposition. It found deficiencies in both submissions and concluded that a clearer, more complete record was needed before determining the amount of damages.
An earlier order in this case identified damages that could be considered for alleged overtime violations under the New York Labor Law and Fair Labor Standards Act, violations of New York wage-notice requirements, failure to pay Lemus for his final week of work, Todd Pezzementi’s alleged assault and battery of Lemus, and attorneys’ fees and costs. The earlier order also stated that Lemus was not entitled to damages under Section 50 of the New York Workers’ Compensation Law.
Court’s directives
The court gave the parties an opportunity to submit additional materials. Lemus’s supplemental submission must include:
- The exact dollar amount sought for each remaining claim and an explanation of how each proposed amount was calculated. - Proper authentication for any medical records he wants the court to consider in connection with the assault and battery claim. - Citations to similar cases supporting any request for pain-and-suffering damages related to that claim. - A proper attorneys’ fee application supporting a lodestar calculation, including contemporaneous time records and information about counsel’s experience and hourly rates. - Documents supporting claimed expenses for service of process, mileage, and a deposition transcript.
The court stated that defendants’ payroll records were also unauthenticated and could not be considered without proper authentication. The records showed dollar amounts and payment dates but did not establish how many days per week or hours per day Lemus worked, or his hourly wage. If defendants wanted the court to consider those records, they had to provide properly authenticated copies and a sworn statement explaining the information in them. They also had to provide the 2014 tax statements referred to in their filing because those documents were not attached.
Disposition
The court ordered the parties to serve and file their supplemental inquest submissions by Friday, July 1, 2022. This order did not determine the amount of damages or award fees and costs.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.