Socha v. Garfield Development Corp.

Background

The defendants—Garfield Development Corp., 144 West 70th Street LLC., 146 Development Corp., 225 W. 16 St. Corp., 864 W.E. Corp., 866-8 Development Corp., Bridges Creek Realty Company, L.L.C., Chelsea Equities LLC, Strata Realty Corp., West Side Equities LLC., Pete Comas, and Alan Garfield—made an offer under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The offer allowed judgment against the defendants and in favor of Zbigniew Socha for $90,000, inclusive of damages, liquidated damages, prejudgment and postjudgment interest, unpaid back wages, spread-of-hours pay, statutory penalties and interest, attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses through the date of the offer. Socha accepted the offer and filed a notice of acceptance.

Judgment

The court entered judgment for Socha against the defendants in the amount of $90,000. The order does not describe the underlying causes of action or decide the merits of those claims. It instead records the judgment that followed from Socha’s acceptance of the defendants’ offer.

Release and exceptions

The order provides for a mutual release of claims and liabilities through the date judgment is entered, subject to stated exceptions. The exceptions include Socha’s personal-injury claims arising from an alleged February 28, 2023 accident in a New York state-court action and his workers’ compensation case. The order also preserves any claim under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, unemployment-insurance or workers’ compensation rights, claims arising after acceptance of the offer, rights under the offer itself, claims that cannot be waived under applicable law, and certain rights concerning government discrimination-agency proceedings. It further preserves claims against employees Nazarii Sukharskyi and Jaroslaw Skornicki concerning lost or stolen items.

Socha must immediately withdraw his complaint before the New York City Human Rights Commission. He represented that, apart from the claims and matters identified in the order, he was not presently aware of other existing or potential claims against the defendants.

Payment and interest

Socha waived interest on the judgment for 60 days. After that period, interest accrues at 9% per year. The defendants must pay one-third of the judgment directly to Socha’s attorney as attorneys’ fees. Half of Socha’s remaining share must be paid as wages subject to taxes and withholdings and reported on Internal Revenue Service Form W-2; the other half must be paid without withholdings as non-wage liquidated damages and reported on Form 1099. Socha or his counsel must file a satisfaction of judgment within five days after receiving payment.

Disposition and classification

Judge Edgardo Ramos ordered the judgment on April 15, 2024. Because the order entered judgment based on an accepted offer rather than resolving the underlying legal claims on their merits, this is classified as a procedural order.