Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store Corp.
- Lewis Liman
- 1:22-cv-04422
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 12
In Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store, Judge Liman ordered judgment awarding Rodriguez unpaid wages, damages, interest, fees, and costs after defendants defaulted.
Pablo Ramon Rodriguez received an award on his own behalf. New Generation Hardware Store Corp. d/b/a New Generation Hardware Store and Kevin Reyes were subject to the judgment ordered by the court. The opinion does not award relief to the other people identified in the initial class or collective allegations.
What happened
In Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store Corp., Pablo Ramon Rodriguez claimed that New Generation Hardware Store Corp. and Kevin Reyes failed to pay required minimum and overtime wages and other amounts under federal and New York law. Defendants did not defend the case, and Rodriguez sought a judgment based on their default only for himself, not for the proposed class or group.
The court found that Rodriguez’s allegations established violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. Based on his sworn evidence, the court awarded $221,478.40 in back wages, the same amount in liquidated damages, $20,103.43 for unpaid spread-of-hours pay, $10,000 for wage-notice and wage-statement violations, $90,126.57 in prejudgment interest, $3,650 in attorneys’ fees, and $570 in costs.
Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered the Clerk of Court to prepare a judgment reflecting those awards and directed the Clerk to close the default-judgment motion. The opinion does not state that the motion itself was granted using that exact wording.
The detailed version
- Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store Corp. · No. 1:22-cv-04422
- Lewis Liman
- Feb. 3, 2023
Background
Pablo Ramon Rodriguez alleged that he worked for New Generation Hardware Store Corp. and its owner and operator, Kevin Reyes, for approximately eight years until around July 2021. He brought claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the New York Labor Law (NYLL), alleging unpaid minimum and overtime wages, unpaid spread-of-hours pay, and violations involving wage notices and wage statements. Although the action was initially brought as a class or collective action, Rodriguez sought default judgment only for himself.
Rodriguez filed the complaint on May 28, 2022, and served the defendants. The Clerk issued a certificate of default. Rodriguez later filed an amended complaint, served the defendants again, and obtained another certificate of default. The defendants did not appear or defend the action. Rodriguez then moved for default judgment and submitted supporting materials, including a sworn statement about his work hours and pay.
Default-judgment standard
The court explained that default judgment involves two steps: formally recognizing a defendant’s failure to defend and then deciding whether the plaintiff’s well-pleaded allegations establish legal liability and what relief the evidence supports. A default admits well-pleaded factual allegations, but it does not automatically establish legal conclusions or the amount of damages. The plaintiff must support damages with evidence. The court may decide damages without holding a separate hearing when the written submissions are sufficient.
Liability
The court found that the amended complaint satisfied the jurisdictional requirements of the relevant FLSA and NYLL provisions. It also found that the allegations established violations of the FLSA’s minimum-wage and overtime provisions and the NYLL’s minimum-wage, overtime, and spread-of-hours provisions.
For damages, the court applied the FLSA’s two-year limitations period, extendable to three years for willful violations, and the NYLL’s six-year limitations period. Because the NYLL provided a higher minimum wage and a longer recovery period, the court focused its wage analysis on the NYLL and avoided duplicative recovery under both statutes.
The court accepted Rodriguez’s sworn estimates of his hours and pay as adequate proof because the defendants did not provide pay records or other evidence. It concluded that he was entitled to back wages for unpaid minimum and overtime wages.
Damages
The court calculated Rodriguez’s back wages as $221,478.40, consisting of $100,299.05 in hourly wages needed to meet New York minimum-wage requirements and $121,249.35 for unpaid overtime.
Because the defendants did not appear or present a good-faith defense, the court awarded liquidated damages equal to 100 percent of the back-wage award: $221,478.40.
The court awarded $5,000 for wage-statement violations and $5,000 for wage-notice violations under the Wage Theft Protection Act, for a total of $10,000. It also awarded $20,103.43 in spread-of-hours pay. The court found that Rodriguez worked shifts from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and was not paid the additional hour of minimum-wage compensation required for shifts lasting more than 10 hours.
The court awarded prejudgment interest at an annual rate of nine percent on the back-wage and spread-of-hours awards, but not on liquidated damages or wage-notice and wage-statement damages. Using December 13, 2018, as the midpoint date, it calculated prejudgment interest as $90,126.57.
Attorneys’ fees and costs
The court awarded $3,650 in attorneys’ fees and $570 in costs. The fee award was based on 8.6 hours of work at hourly rates of $450 for Michael Samuel and $400 for Andrew Beresin. The court found those rates reasonable based on counsel’s wage-and-hour litigation experience. The accepted costs included filing and process-server fees.
Disposition
The court concluded that Rodriguez was entitled to relief for back wages, unpaid spread-of-hours pay, and attorneys’ fees and costs. It directed the Clerk of Court to prepare a judgment reflecting the specified damages and to close Docket No. 41, the default-judgment motion.
Read the full 12-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.