Amaya v. Buildsmart LLC
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:21-cv-06378
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Amaya v. Buildsmart, Judge Schofield adopted damages recommendations, awarded eight plaintiffs money, and dismissed Fuentes’s claims without prejudice for failure to prosecute.
The eight plaintiffs awarded damages will receive the specified amounts and post-judgment interest. Fuentes’s default judgment was vacated and Fuentes’s claims were dismissed without prejudice. The defendants are subject to the resulting judgment.
What happened
In Amaya v. Buildsmart LLC, the court had already entered a default judgment against all defendants. A magistrate judge then reviewed the plaintiffs’ damages claims under federal and New York wage laws.
The court adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendations in full. It awarded eight plaintiffs amounts ranging from $16,900 to $24,850, plus post-judgment interest at the federal rate. It awarded no pre-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees, or costs. The court also vacated the default judgment as to Fuentes and dismissed Fuentes’s claims without prejudice because Fuentes failed to prosecute the case.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield found no clear error in the magistrate judge’s recommendations because no timely objections were filed. She directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment and close the case.
The detailed version
- Amaya v. Buildsmart LLC · No. 1:21-cv-06378
- Lorna Schofield
- June 21, 2023
Background
The court had entered a default judgment against all defendants on February 24, 2022. The plaintiffs’ request for damages was referred to Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave for a post-default-judgment review of the amounts owed.
Judge Cave issued a Report and Recommendation on January 31, 2023. It recommended awards for unpaid overtime wages, liquidated damages, statutory damages, and post-judgment interest under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law. The recommended awards were:
- Jesus Amaya: $21,560 - Cesar Reyes: $23,600 - Fredy Lopez Mondragon: $16,900 - Carlos Garcia: $16,900 - Fidencio Diaz: $24,550 - Lucino Galindo Cano: $17,410 - Melvin Vigil Mesia: $20,880 - Edwin Belecela: $24,850
The Report also recommended post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961, no award of pre-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees, or costs, and that the default judgment be vacated as to Fuentes. It recommended dismissing Fuentes’s claims without prejudice for failure to prosecute, or alternatively giving Fuentes 30 days to explain why the claims should not be dismissed.
Review of the Report
The deadline for objections was 14 days after service. Plaintiffs’ counsel filed a certificate stating that defendants were served with the Report on February 1, 2023. No timely objections were filed. In that situation, the district court reviewed the record for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake apparent from the record.
Ruling
Judge Schofield found no clear error and adopted the Report in full. The court awarded the eight listed plaintiffs the recommended amounts. It also awarded post-judgment interest, calculated from the date the Clerk of Court entered judgment, at the federal rate provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1961. The court did not award pre-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees, or costs.
The court vacated the default judgment as to Fuentes and dismissed Fuentes’s claims without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41 for failure to prosecute. The court directed the Clerk of Court to enter judgment and close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.