Williams v. Firequench, Inc.

Background

Shatoya Williams alleged that Firequench, Inc., doing business as Firetronics, failed to hire or stopped considering her for a fire alarm technician position because of her sex or gender. She alleged that Firequench employees told or indicated that she would not be hired because of her gender. Her claims arose under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law.

Firequench did not respond to the complaint or appear in the case. The court therefore entered a default judgment establishing liability and referred the case to Magistrate Judge James L. Cott for a damages proceeding. Judge Cott recommended $142,421.45: $90,930.79 in backpay, $30,000 in emotional-distress damages, $20,900 in attorneys’ fees, and $590.66 in costs, along with pre-judgment interest on backpay and post-judgment interest on all awarded sums.

Firequench later appeared and moved to set aside the default judgment. The court denied that motion after finding that all three relevant factors—whether the default was intentional, whether Firequench had a potentially valid defense, and whether setting aside the default would harm Williams—weighed against Firequench. Firequench appealed that decision but later withdrew the appeal. The district court then considered Firequench’s objections to the damages recommendation.

Objections to Backpay

Firequench challenged the recommended $36,538.90 in backpay for March 17 through December 6, 2020, after Williams resigned from her handyman job with AKAM. Firequench argued that Williams left for personal reasons rather than because of unsafe COVID-19 workplace conditions and that she had not made adequate efforts to find replacement work. It also argued that her job may have been nonessential under an executive order.

Williams stated that she had interacted with building tenants who had tested positive for COVID-19 and that AKAM had provided no personal protective equipment or social-distancing policy. She disputed Firequench’s account and stated that AKAM considered her an essential worker.

The court found the existing record insufficient to reliably determine why Williams resigned, whether her mitigation efforts were adequate, and whether her AKAM work was essential or nonessential. The court therefore reopened the damages proceeding for limited discovery on those subjects. It did not adopt the Report and Recommendation’s proposed $36,538.90 award for that period at that time.

Objections to Attorneys’ Fees

Firequench also argued that the recommended $20,900 fee award was excessive, pointing generally to work it characterized as administrative or paralegal work. The court found this objection cursory and nonspecific, and its own review did not identify widespread unreasonable billing.

The court nevertheless modified the fee calculation for 1.6 hours spent on administrative tasks. Instead of awarding those hours at the recommended junior-associate rate of $200 per hour, the court awarded them at a paralegal rate of $100 per hour. The resulting attorneys’ fee award was $20,740. The court also stated that Williams could seek additional fees for work connected with the limited discovery.

Ruling and Amount Awarded

Judge Engelmayer adopted the portions of Judge Cott’s recommendation to which Firequench had not objected and resolved the fee objection as described above. The court awarded Williams $105,722.55: $54,391.89 in backpay, $30,000 in emotional-distress damages, $20,740 in attorneys’ fees, and $590.66 in costs. The award also included pre-judgment interest on the backpay and post-judgment interest on all sums, beginning when the Clerk of Court enters judgment and continuing until payment.

The case was ordered to proceed with expedited, limited discovery concerning Williams’s March 16, 2020 resignation from AKAM, her efforts to reduce her losses between March 16 and December 6, 2020, and her AKAM job responsibilities. The court directed the parties to submit a case-management plan and later provide limited briefing on those issues.