Hong v. Mommy's Jamaican Market Corp.

Background

After a three-day trial ending on December 13, 2023, the jury found that Mommy’s Jamaican Market Corp., Kap Won Kim, and Myong Su Kim violated the New York Labor Law by failing to pay Sun Yeul Hong minimum wages, overtime wages, and spread-of-hours wages. The jury also found that the defendants failed to provide required wage statements and did not act in good faith. It awarded Hong $521 for minimum wages, $61,489 for overtime, $19,491 for spread-of-hours wages, and $5,000 for wage-statement violations, for a total of $86,501.

Hong then moved for liquidated damages, prejudgment and post-judgment interest, attorney’s fees, costs, and a conditional 15 percent increase in the judgment if payment was not timely made. The defendants did not oppose the requests for liquidated damages, interest, or the conditional increase. They opposed the amount of attorney’s fees and argued that no more than $134,799.09 should be awarded. They also challenged some of the claimed hours and expenses.

Court’s analysis

The court awarded $81,501 in liquidated damages, equal to the unpaid wage damages for which the jury found the defendants responsible. The court stated that the defendants had not proved a good-faith basis for believing that their wage payments complied with the law.

The court also awarded $45,277 in prejudgment interest. It accepted Hong’s method of calculating simple interest on the unpaid wages using an intermediate date. The court awarded post-judgment interest at the statutory rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1961. It further held that the judgment must provide for an automatic 15 percent increase if amounts remain unpaid 90 days after issuance of the judgment, or 90 days after the appeal period ends with no appeal pending, whichever is later.

For attorney’s fees, the court applied the usual method of multiplying reasonable hourly rates by a reasonable number of hours. It found reasonable hourly rates of $425 for lead counsel Michael Hyunkweon Ryu, $200 for Sara Ryu, $125 for law student Gregory Lee, and $100 for paralegal Cathy Kim. The court also found that some billed hours were excessive, including time spent on depositions, trial preparation, and settlement. At the same time, it recognized that the defendants’ discovery resistance and other litigation conduct increased the time and expense of the case. The court therefore awarded 50 percent of the requested attorney’s fees: $177,318.25 rather than $354,636.50.

The court reviewed the requested costs, including expenses for travel, interpreters, and translation services. It found the $18,460.09 request adequately documented, reasonable, and recoverable.

Disposition

Judge Lewis J. Liman concluded that the motion for attorney’s fees and costs was granted in part and denied in part. Hong was awarded $81,501 in liquidated damages, $45,277 in prejudgment interest, post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a), $177,318.25 in attorney’s fees, and $18,460.09 in costs. The court directed Hong to submit a proposed judgment within seven days and directed the clerk to close the motion docket entry.