Ramirez v. Urion Construction LLC
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:22-cv-03342
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
Ramirez v. Urion Construction LLC: Judge Schofield entered default judgment on liability against defendants for alleged wage-law violations and ordered a damages inquiry.
The four named plaintiffs—Jose Ramirez, Alejandro Navarrete, Wilmer Caiza, and Segundo Yanzapanta—and the defendant company and individual defendant, Urion Construction LLC and Heriberto Gonzalez Sirias. The ruling concerns alleged wage-law violations and leaves damages for a later inquest.
What happened
In Ramirez v. Urion Construction LLC, four named plaintiffs alleged that Urion Construction LLC and Heriberto Gonzalez Sirias violated federal and New York wage laws by failing to pay required wages, overtime, and other amounts. The defendants were served but did not appear or defend.
The court entered default against both defendants and ruled that the complaint adequately established their liability on the wage-related claims. The court referred the amount of damages to a later proceeding called a damages inquest.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield entered the default judgment on liability and stated that a separate order referring the case for a damages inquest would issue. The supplied document also contains corrupted and internally inconsistent damage figures, so the precise amounts cannot be reliably summarized from this text.
The detailed version
- Ramirez v. Urion Construction LLC · No. 1:22-cv-03342
- Lorna Schofield
- Sept. 26, 2022
Background
Jose Ramirez, Alejandro Navarrete, Wilmer Caiza, and Segundo Yanzapanta sued Urion Construction LLC and Heriberto Gonzalez Sirias, individually, alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. The complaint alleged failures involving minimum wages, overtime compensation, weekly pay, written wage notices, wage statements, and required records.
The opinion states that Urion Construction LLC was served through an authorized agent in the New York Secretary of State’s office and that Sirias was served at his last known residence. The plaintiffs also stated that they contacted Sirias, who indicated that the defendants would not appear or defend. The Clerk entered default against both defendants under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(a) after they failed to appear or respond.
Court’s analysis
The court concluded that the complaint sufficiently pleaded the wage claims to establish liability as a matter of law. It stated that the complaint adequately alleged that the defendants willfully failed to pay applicable minimum wages and overtime compensation, failed to pay the plaintiffs weekly, and failed to provide written information about pay rates or the dates covered by payments.
The opinion identifies claims for overtime wages and unpaid wages under both the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law, as well as New York claims concerning payment frequency, wage statements, and notice and recordkeeping requirements.
Ruling and disposition
The court entered default judgment against Urion Construction LLC and Heriberto Gonzalez Sirias on liability. Because the defendants did not appear, this was a default judgment rather than an adversarial trial of the claims. The court ordered that damages be determined through a later damages inquest and stated that a separate referral order would issue.
The supplied text includes damaged or corrupted portions listing individual amounts and a total, but those figures are internally inconsistent with other portions of the document. The reliable ruling shown in the opinion is the default judgment on liability and referral for a damages inquest; no precise damages amount is stated consistently enough here to report.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.