Nestor Victor v. Sams Deli Grocery Corp.
- Sarah Cave
- 1:19-cv-02965-SLC
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 37
Nestor Victor v. Sam’s Deli Grocery Corp.: Judge Cave granted in part and denied in part Victor’s default-judgment motion, awarding $169,258.54 plus fees and costs.
Pastor Nestor Victor received a partial default judgment against Sam’s Deli Grocery Corp. and Walid Mohamed Seidi. The court did not award minimum straight-time or spread-of-hours damages, and Victor’s claims against Sameer Ali and Lou Doe had already been voluntarily dismissed.
What happened
In Nestor Victor v. Sam’s Deli Grocery Corp., Pastor Nestor Victor claimed that the deli and its operators failed to pay required overtime and other wages, provide wage notices and statements, and keep proper records. The deli and Walid Mohamed Seidi stopped defending the case after their lawyers withdrew, while Victor voluntarily dismissed his claims against Sameer Ali and Lou Doe.
The court entered a default judgment after finding that the deli and Seidi willfully failed to respond and that delay would harm Victor. The court found them responsible for unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, and statutory damages for missing wage notices and statements, but not for minimum straight-time wages or spread-of-hours pay.
Judge Sarah L. Cave granted in part and denied in part the motion. She awarded Victor $169,258.54 in damages, $5,137.50 in attorneys’ fees, $400 in costs, post-judgment interest, and a possible 15% increase if the judgment remains unpaid under New York law.
The detailed version
- Nestor Victor v. Sams Deli Grocery Corp. · No. 1:19-cv-02965-SLC
- Sarah Cave
- Aug. 25, 2022
Background
Pastor Nestor Victor brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, New York Labor Law, and New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act. He alleged that, while working as a sandwich maker and performing other deli duties, he regularly worked more than 40 hours per week but was not paid the required overtime premium. He also alleged that the defendants failed to provide meal breaks, keep accurate time records, provide accurate wage statements, and give required wage notices.
The relevant employment periods were July 2011 through October 2014 and December 2017 through February 2019. Victor alleged that he worked 60 hours per week during some periods and 69 hours per week during another period. The deli and Seidi initially appeared and defended the case, but their lawyers later withdrew. After the court ordered them to obtain counsel or otherwise respond, they did not comply. The Clerk entered certificates of default against both. Victor voluntarily dismissed his claims against Ali and Doe.
Default judgment and liability
Under Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a default judgment may be entered after a defendant fails to defend and the Clerk enters a certificate of default. The court found that the deli and Seidi’s failure to respond after proper service indicated a willful default, and that delaying judgment could prejudice Victor. It therefore found entry of default judgment proper.
A default admitted the well-pleaded factual allegations, but the court still had to determine whether those allegations established legal liability and whether Victor supported the amount of damages. The court found that the allegations established that the deli and Seidi were Victor’s employers and that they were jointly and individually responsible for damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. The court also found that the allegations established the required connection to interstate commerce for the federal wage claims.
The court found liability for unpaid overtime wages. Victor alleged that he worked more than 40 hours per week and did not receive overtime pay for those additional hours. The court found that the defendants were not entitled to count tips toward the minimum wage because they did not give the required notice or account for tips in wage records.
The court rejected Victor’s claim for unpaid minimum straight-time wages because his regular hourly pay, calculated from his weekly pay divided by 40 hours, was at or above the applicable minimum wage for each period. The court also denied spread-of-hours damages because Victor had not asserted that claim in the complaint or identified the dates on which he worked more than ten hours in a day.
The court found that Victor was entitled to liquidated damages equal to his unpaid overtime wages because the defaulting defendants did not show that they acted in good faith. It also found liability for statutory damages under the Wage Theft Prevention Act because the defendants failed to provide required wage notices and accurate wage statements.
Damages and other relief
The court determined damages from Victor’s declarations and other written submissions without holding a damages hearing. It awarded:
- $79,629.27 in unpaid overtime wages; - $79,629.27 in liquidated damages; - $10,000 in statutory damages, consisting of $5,000 for missing wage notices and $5,000 for missing wage statements; - $169,258.54 total damages; - post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961; - $5,137.50 in attorneys’ fees; and - $400 in costs.
The court reduced the requested attorneys’ fees after reviewing the lawyers’ experience and billing rates. It awarded no fees for Michael Faillace’s time, reduced the hourly rates for Joshua Androphy, Bryan D. Robinson, and Catalino Sojo, and reduced the paralegal rate. It awarded only the documented $400 filing fee as costs because the requested service costs were not supported by invoices or receipts.
The court also granted Victor’s request for an automatic 15% increase in the total judgment if amounts remain unpaid 90 days after judgment is issued, or 90 days after the appeal period ends with no appeal pending, whichever is later. The order states that Victor’s motion for default judgment was granted in part and denied in part.
Read the full 37-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.