JOHN ROBERT BLAKEY, District Judge.
Plaintiff, through her attorneys, requests that this Court enter an Order of Default and Judgment against Defendants W.E. Banquets, LLC and Mario Ferraro, jointly and severally. In support of this Motion, Plaintiff states the following:
1. This lawsuit arises under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §201 et seq. ("FLSA") and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, 820 ILCS 105/1 et seq. ("IMWL"), the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, 820 ILCS 115/1 et seq. ("IWPCA"), and under Illinois common law for: 1) Defendants' failure to pay Plaintiff overtime wages for all time worked in excess of forty (40) hours in individual work weeks in violation of the FLSA and IMWL; 2) Defendants' practice of making unlawful deductions from Plaintiff's wages; 3) Defendants' practice of failing to pay Plaintiff for all accrued vacation pay as part of their final wages; and 4) Defendants' unlawful retaliation against Plaintiff.
2. This lawsuit was filed on November 21, 2017 against W.E. Banquets LLC.
3. On February 14, 2018, an Order of Default was entered against W.E. Banquets, LLC. See Dkt. No. 11.
4. Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint in this matter adding Mario Ferraro as a Defendant in this matter on May 25, 2018. See Dkt. No 20.
5. As alleged in Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint, Defendant Mario Ferraro is a principal officer of Defendant W.E. Banquets, LLC., as well as a principal manager involved in Defendant W.E. Banquet LLC.'s day to day operations.
6. On August 20, 2018, after multiple attempts by Plaintiff to serve Mario Ferraro, this Court granted Plaintiff's Motion to Serve Mr. Ferraro by Alternative Means. See Dkt. No. 24.
7. As set forth in the Court's August 20, 2018 Order, by September 11, 2018, Mr. Ferraro was served via by U.S. regular mail and U.S. certified mail to 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles, Illinois, 60714, and by email to Mr. Ferraro's email address obtained by Special Process Server Mark Edds. See Dkt. No. 26; see, also, Group Exhibit A.
8. Mr. Ferraro's answer or other responsive pleading to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint was due on October 2, 2018. See Dkt. No. 26. Mr. Ferraro did not file a responsive answer or other responsive pleading. To date, Mr. Ferraro has not appeared in this matter, either directly or through a representative, and no one has contacted Plaintiff's counsel on Mr. Ferraro's behalf.
9. Therefore, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court enter an Order of Default against Defendant Mario Ferraro in this matter.
10. Plaintiff is entitled to a judgment in the total amount of $51,057.69 broken down as follows:
11. In addition, Plaintiff is entitled to a judgment for her reasonable attorneys' fees in the amount of $7,675.00 and costs of $520.00. See Exhibit C, Declaration of Christopher J. Williams, ¶¶14-16 and Exhibit 1.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court enter an Order of Judgment jointly and severally against W.E. Banquets, LLC and Mario Ferraro, individually, in the amount of $51,057.69 for unpaid overtime, unlawful deductions, unpaid vacation, retaliation and statutory damages and interest and in the amount of $8,195.00 for Plaintiff's reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
Respectfully submitted,
This docket entry was made by the Clerk on Monday, August 20, 2018:
MINUTE entry before the Honorable John Robert Blakey: Plaintiffs motion for leave to serve Defendants by alternative means and for an extension of time to serve Defendants [22] is granted. Plaintiff may serve Defendants by mailing a copy of the summons and complaint to Defendant, Mario Ferraro, individually, and as an officer of W.E. Banquets, by U.S. regular mail and U.S. certified mail to 6839 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles, Illinois, 60714, and by email to Mr. Ferraro's email address obtained by Special Process Server Mark Edds. The Court extends the time for service to 9/20/18. The 8/23/18 Notice of Motion date is stricken, and the parties need not appear. The motion hearing previously set for 9/12/18 is stricken and reset for 10/16/18 at 9:45 a.m. in Courtroom 1203. Mailed notice(gel,)
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Dear Mr. Ferraro,
The Court has authorized us to effectuate service of Ms. Clara De la Rosa's Complaint for unpaid overtime wages, vacation pay and unlawful retaliation against W.E. Banquets and yourself, Mario Ferraro, via. U.S. regular mail and email. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding this matter or otherwise wish explore resolution. You may reach us at 312-795-9121.
Thank you.
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I, Clara de la Rosa, declare as follows:
1. I am a resident of Illinois and am over the age of 18. The statements set forth in this Declaration are based on first-hand knowledge unless otherwise stated and about which I could and would testify competently in open Court if called upon to do so
2. Based on my memory
3. I typically worked 8 hour shifts on Monday through Friday as a cleaner earning $10.00 per hour and worked 8 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday as a server earning $12.00 per hour. I was not paid any overtime wages.
4. I prepared the spreadsheet attached as Exhibit 1 with the assistance of my attorneys showing the overtime wages that I am owed along with statutory damages and interest showing I am owed $6,432.86 in unpaid overtime wages, $6,432.86 in liquidated damages pursuant to the FLSA, $2,677.53 in statutory interest pursuant to the IMWL. See Exhibit 1, attached.
5. Based on my memory, I had three deductions of $30.00 for uniforms which were taken without my written authorization at the time of the deduction so I am owed $90.00 for these unauthorized deductions. See Exhibit 1, attached.
6. Based on my memory, during my employment, I earned one week of vacation which I did not utilize during my employment but for which I was not compensated upon my termination from employment. Therefore, I am owed $422.80 for one week of unpaid vacation as part of my final wages pursuant to the IWPCA. See Exhibit 1, attached.
7. I was taken off the schedule, or constructively terminated, after I complained about the shortages of my earned wages on my paycheck in violation of the anti-retaliation provision of the IWPCA. Based on my memory, I typically earned or, by law, should have earned $676.57 per week, inclusive of overtime wages, during my employment with Defendants. I am seeking the equivalent of one year, or 52 weeks, of wages for my retaliation claim, or $35,181.64. See Exhibit 1, attached.
8. I am not suffering any impediments and am competent to testify to all of the foregoing.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
I, Christopher J. Williams, declare as follows:
1. I am an attorney in good standing, duly licensed and admitted to the Bar of the state of Illinois, the Bar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and am admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. I am the principal of Workers' Law Office, PC ("WLO").
2. WLO represents the named Plaintiff in the above-captioned matter. I am and have been the lead trial attorney in this matter.
3. The statements set forth in this Declaration are based on first-hand knowledge, about which I could and would testify competently in open Court if called upon to do so, and on records contemporaneously generated and kept by WLO in the ordinary course of the firm's law practices. This Declaration is submitted in support of the attorneys' fees and costs contained in Plaintiff's Motion Default Judgment ("Motion").
4. WLO charges for the services of its attorneys and paralegals on the basis of hourly rates which reflect, among other things, years of practice, ability and experience. The lodestar calculation in the Motion is based upon current hourly rates for all current attorneys and staff and, for those who are no longer employed by WLO, upon the billing rates set for such persons at the time of leaving. These hourly rates are re-evaluated annually and are consistent with the usual and customary hourly rates within the Chicago legal community for work of this nature.
5. The time for which WLO seeks to be compensated was maintained contemporaneously with its expenditure and was recorded by each attorney and paralegal. These records are entered into an Excel database entitled "WLO Time Tracker" maintained on the WLO server. Whenever I and the other staff of WLO performed work on behalf of Plaintiff in connection with this case, we make entries into this spreadsheet. These entries consist of a designation of the case, a description of the work performed on the date of the entry as well as the amount of time spent during the day in performing the work described.
6. I was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 2004 after graduating from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Since being admitted to practice law in Illinois, I have been lead counsel or co-counseled in over 350 employment law cases filed in the Northern District of Illinois and the Circuit Court of Cook County, the vast majority of which have been cases arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §1981 ("Section §1981"), the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), the Illinois Minimum Wage Law ("IMWL"), the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act ("IWPCA"), the Illinois Employee Classification Act ("ECA") and the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act ("IDTLSA"). Over thirty of these cases have involved complex class or collective action litigation arising under Title VII, Section 1981, the FCRA, the FLSA, the IMWL, the IWPCA and/or the IDTLSA.
7. I have been appointed class counsel in over thirty-five class action cases in the Northern District of Illinois and the Circuit Court of Cook County involving complex class litigation arising under Title VII, Section 1981, the FCRA, the IMWL, the IWPCA and the IDTLSA and other relevant state and federal laws.
8. After being admitted to the Illinois Bar, I was one of the founders of a non-profit legal service organization, Working Hands Legal Clinic, which provided assistance for low-income Illinois residents (defined as earning 150% or below of the poverty level) in the area of employment law. I served as the Executive Director of the Working Hands Legal Clinic through June 30, 2011. During the period of my tenure as Director, Working Hands Legal Clinic assisted in recovering over $5,000,000 in owed wages on behalf of low wage Illinois residents. Working Hands Legal Clinic's work was recognized and funded by the Chicago Bar Foundation, the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, and the Lawyers' Trust Fund of Illinois, among other foundations.
9. I am considered to be well experienced in the area of employment law and have served as a panelist at continuing legal education seminars sponsored by the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois Legal Aid Online, the National Employment Lawyers' Association, the Illinois Employment Lawyers' Association, the National Employment Law Project, the AFL-CIO Lawyers' Coordinating Committee, Chicago-Kent College of Law, DePaul University College of Law, among others. In 2011, I was awarded the Honorable Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Public Interest Law Award by Chicago-Kent College of Law and teach a course on legal issues affecting low wage workers at Kent College of Law.
10. As Director of the Working Hands Legal Clinic, I served as legal advisor to the legislative sponsor in the Illinois Senate of the 2006 amendments to the Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act ("IDTLSA") and was primarily responsible for drafting the legislative language of the amendments. From 2009 through 2011, I served as a member of a task force with the Illinois Department of Labor and the Office of the Attorney General of Illinois to examine the problem of wage theft in Illinois which resulted in amendments to the IMWL and the IWPCA. In 2011, I started my own firm called the Workers' Law Office.
11. Many of the cases my firm litigates are brought under statutes that provide for fee-shifting. Therefore, courts in this district and in Illinois regularly determine the reasonable hourly rate for my services. For example, based on my experience and ability in litigating the following cases, the relevant court has awarded fee awards based on the following hourly rates for my work:
12. Former WLO partner, Alvar Ayala, who performed the majority of the work on this case, has also had courts in this district and in Illinois determine the reasonable hourly rate for his services. For example, based on his experience and ability in litigating the following cases, the relevant court has awarded fee awards based on the following hourly rates for his work:
13. WLO has been instrumental in the development of newly passed laws designed to protect low income workers such as the Employee Classification Act, 820 ILCS, 185/1 et seq., which was the subject of the instant case and appeal. Further, our firm has been instrumental in the development of the law concerning the employment relationship between temporary staffing agencies, temporary laborers and the staffing agency's client companies. Our firm has been involved in over twenty published decisions on the above-referenced issues. See, for example, Staffing Network Holdings, LLC, 2015 NLRB LEXIS 68 (N.L.R.B. Feb. 4, 2015), enf'd. 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 3945 (7th Cir. 2016) (finding that a separation of a temporary laborer from an assignment to a third party client company for engaging in concerted protected activity violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act); see, also, Hunt v. Pers. Staffing Grp., LLC, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28146 (N.D. Ill., February 28, 2018); Lucas v. Vee Pak, Inc., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 209872 (N.D. Ill., December 20, 2017); Lucas v. Gold Std. Baking, Inc., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124908 (N.D. Ill., August 8, 2017); Shirley v. Staffing Network Holdings, LLC, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154494 (N.D. Ill., November 8, 2016); Hoffman v. RoadLink Workforce Solutions, LLC, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105081 (N.D. Ill., August 1, 2014); Lucas v. Ferrara Candy Co., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99600 (N.D. Ill., July 22, 2014); and Lucas v. Gold Std. Baking, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16100 (N.D. Ill., February 10, 2014).
14. Since September 10, 2017, Mr. Ayala has spent 12.8 hours on this case
15. The hourly rate of $500.00 per hour we seek for my work on this case, the $375.00 per hour we seek for Mr. Ayala's work on this case and the $150.00 per hour we seek for paralegals in our office in the accompanying Motion is reasonable based on years of practice, experience and skill and is consistent with the Chicago area market.
16. Based on the time and hourly rates expended by WLO, WLO seeks $7,675.00 in fees and $520 in reimbursement of costs in this matter. See accounting of the time worked by WLO staff and costs expended by WLO on this case attached as Exhibit 1.I am not suffering any impediments and am competent to testify to all of the foregoing.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Lucas, et al. v. Vee Pak, Inc., et al., 12 C 9672 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 355)(Final Approval of Partial Class Settlement 9/19/18); Bradley, et al. v. Silverstar, Ltd., Inc., 16 C 10259 (N.D. Ill.) (D.E. 67)(Final Approval 12/21/17); Williams, et al. v. El Milagro, Inc., 16 CH 06975 (Cook Cty. Cir. Ct., Ill.)(Final Approval 11/27/17); Solorzano v. El Milagro, Inc., 16 CH 07910 (Cook Cty. Cir. Ct., Ill.)(Final Approval 11/20/17); Arroyo v. Andrews Staffing, 16 CH 08718 (Cook Cty. Cir. Ct., Ill.)(Final Approval 11/2/17); Munoz, et al. v. Wheeler Trailers, Inc., 16 C 8722 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 36)(Final Approval 11/1/17); Jacinto, et al. v. Cermak Produce Management Co., Inc., 16 CV 7247 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 35)(Final Approval 7/12/17); Cornejo, et al. v. Titan Metals, Inc., 16 C 4053 (N.D. Ill.)(Dkt. No 36)(Final Approval 5/25/17); Lucas, et al. v Ferrara Candy Company, et al., 13 C 1525 (N.D. Ill.)(Dkt. No.194)(Final Approval 12/2/16); Baker, et al. v. Elite Staffing, Inc., 15 C 3246 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 55)(Final Approval 3/1/17); Romero, et al. v. Active Roofing Company, Inc., 15 C 1347 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 109)(Final Approval 11/28/16); Mejia, et al. v. Windward Roofing and Construction, Inc., 15 C 5687 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 53)(Final Approval 9/8/16); McDowell, et al. v. Accurate Personnel, LLC Case No. 14 C 8211 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 77)(Final Approval 9/1/16); Gutierrez, et al. v. Addison Hotels, LLC, 15 C 2021 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 44)(Final Approval 5/9/16); Hoffman, et al. v. RoadLink Workforce Solutions, LLC, et al., 12 C 7323 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 154)(Final Approval 1/29/16); Mayfield, et al. v. Versant Supply Chain, Inc., et al., 14 C 7024 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 61)(Final Approval 12/15/1); Ramirez, et al. v. Staffing Network, et al., 13 C 6501 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 142)(Final Approval 7/24/15); Martinez, et al. v. Staffing Network, et al., 13 C 1381 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 143)(Final Approval 6/30/15); Barrera, et al. v. Staffing Network, et al., 13 C 5889 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 71)(Final Approval 6/30/15); Creal, et al. v. Staffing Solutions Southeast et al. Case No. 13 C 7592 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 82)(Final Approval April 7, 2015); Alvarado et al. v. Neptun Light Inc., et al. Case No. 13 C 3199 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 68)(Final Approval 5/7/15); Alvarado, et al. v. Aerotek, Inc., 13 C 6843 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 46)(Final Approval 2/12/2015); Dickerson, et al. v. Rogers' Premier Enterprises, LLC, 13 C 7154 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 58)(Final Approval 01/07/15); Hernandez, et al. v. ASG Staffing, Inc., 12 C 2068 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 87)(Final Approval 12/11/14); Blancas, et al. v. Cairo and Sons Roofing Co. Inc., 12 C 2636 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 43)(Final Approval 12/12/2013); Dean, et al. v. Eclipse Advantage Inc., et al, 11 C 8285 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 149)(Final Approval 12/17/2013); Gallegos, et al v. Midway Building Services, Ltd., et al., 12 C 4032 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 67)(Final Approval 10/02/2013); Craig, et al. v. EmployBridge, et al., 11 C 3818 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 75)(Final Approval 04/04/13); Smith, et al. v. Dollar Tree Distribution, Inc., 12 C 3240 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 35)(Final Approval 2/27/13); Bautista et al. v. Real Time Staffing Services, Inc. et al., 10 C 0644 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 58)(Final Approval 8/28/12); Francisco, et al. v. REM Staffing, et al., 11 C 2162 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 43)(Final Approval 5/24/2012); Jones et al. v. Simos Insourcing Solutions, Inc. et al., 11 C 3331 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 35)(Final Approval 5/4/2012); Alvarez, et al. v. Staffing Partners, Inc. et al., 10 C 6083 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 63)(Final Approval 1/17/12); Andrade, et al. v. Ideal Staffing Solutions, Inc., et al., 08 C 4912 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 142)(Final Approval 3/29/10); Arrez, et al. v. Kelly Services, Inc., 07 C 1289 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 177)(Final Approval 10/8/09); Ortegón, et al. v. Staffing Network, Inc., 06 CH 12679 (Cook Cty. Cir. Ct., Ill.)(Final Approval 7/24/09); and Acosta, et al. v. Scott Labor, et al., 05 C 2518 (N.D. Ill.)(D.E. 120)(Final Approval 3/10/08).
