Cajero Torres v. Sushi Sushi Holdings Inc.
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:19-cv-02532
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Cajero Torres v. Sushi Sushi Holdings Inc.: Judge Engelmayer denied counsel’s reconsideration motion and directed entry of judgment for damages, interest, fees, and costs.
Plaintiffs Ricardo Cajero Torres and Mario Bautista, their law firm Hang & Associates, PLLC, and defendant Igor Grinberg were affected by the payment and judgment directives. Hang & Associates’ reconsideration motion was denied.
What happened
In Cajero Torres v. Sushi Sushi Holdings Inc., the court held a conference about Hang & Associates, PLLC’s request to reconsider parts of the court’s decision awarding fees and costs. The court had already denied that request and explained its reasons in a bench decision.
The court directed the Clerk to enter judgment on August 12, 2022. Ricardo Cajero Torres was owed $4,844.88 in damages and prejudgment interest, Mario Bautista was owed $2,789.16, and Hang & Associates was owed $5,145 in fees and $1,285.63 in costs.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer also addressed payment arrangements. Defendant Igor Grinberg had not made the expected payments because defense counsel reported that he did not presently have the funds; the court expected prompt payment and directed plaintiffs’ counsel to confirm on the docket that each plaintiff received the full amount paid to that plaintiff.
The detailed version
- Cajero Torres v. Sushi Sushi Holdings Inc. · No. 1:19-cv-02532
- Paul Engelmayer
- Aug. 11, 2022
Background
The court held a conference concerning plaintiffs’ counsel Hang & Associates, PLLC’s motion to reconsider aspects of the court’s decision awarding fees and costs. The court had previously stated that the motion was denied and explained the reasons in a bench decision issued at the conference.
The court had expected defendant Igor Grinberg to provide checks to plaintiffs Ricardo Cajero Torres and Mario Bautista for their damages and prejudgment interest, and to Hang & Associates for its fees and costs. The purpose was to ensure that the plaintiffs personally received their full amounts without deductions by their law firm. Defense counsel reported that Grinberg did not presently have the funds to make the payments.
Amounts and Judgment
The court directed the Clerk to enter judgment on August 12, 2022, based on the jury’s May 20, 2022 findings and the parties’ calculations. The amounts listed were:
- Cajero Torres: $1,135.27 in unpaid overtime wages, $2,286 in unpaid spread-of-hours pay, and $1,423.62 in prejudgment interest through August 12, 2022, for total damages of $4,844.88. - Bautista: $594 in overtime wages, $1,464 in unpaid spread-of-hours pay, and $731.16 in prejudgment interest through August 12, 2022, for total damages of $2,789.16. - Hang & Associates, PLLC: $5,145 in legal fees and $1,285.63 in costs.
The court also noted that interest would accrue after judgment on the money judgments. Upon any payment by Grinberg to Cajero Torres or Bautista, plaintiffs’ counsel was directed to file a docketed statement confirming that the entire payment went to the relevant plaintiff and describing how it was paid.
Ruling
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer denied Hang & Associates’ motion for reconsideration and directed entry of judgment. The opinion addresses the reconsideration request, payment of previously determined amounts, and entry of judgment; it does not decide a new underlying liability issue.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.