John Doe et al v. C&C Agricultural Farms, LLC et al

Filing 92

OPINION AND ORDER. (1)Plaintiffs' Request for Damages Pursuant to the Court's Entry of Default Judgment is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Their claim for liquidated damages under the FLSA is DENIED. Otherwise, Plaintiffs' cl aims for damages are GRANTED as follows: a.Plaintiff Paulino Jose Juarez shall recover from Defendant Reyes Tapia-Ortiz $704,482.55 in damages; b.Plaintiff Alejandro Sanchez Perez shall recover from Defendant Reyes Tapia-Ortiz $458,696.50 d amages; c.Plaintiff Josue Cruz Velasco shall recover from Defendant Reyes Tapia-Ortiz $1,052,523.16 in damages; d. Plaintiff Juana Lopez Ramirez shall recover from Defendant Reyes Tapia-Ortiz $350,655.36 in damages; e. Plaintiff Marlyn Pere z Perez shall recover from Defendant Reyes Tapia-Ortiz $959,644.24 in damages; and f. All Plaintiffs shall recover from Defendant Reyes Tapia-Ortiz interest at the legal rate until each award is satisfied. (2) The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment, terminate all deadlines and motions, and close the file. Signed by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on 2/10/2017. (LMF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
JANE DOE, 1 and 2, and JOHN DOE, 1
through 5,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No: 2:14-cv-206-FtM-38MRM

REYES TAPIA-ORTIZ,
Defendant.
/
OPINION AND ORDER1
This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Request for Damages Pursuant
to the Court's Entry of Default Judgment (Doc. 80). On June 22, 2016, the Court entered
an Order granting Plaintiffs Motion for Default Judgment against Defendant Reyes TapiaOrtiz and reserving on damages until a hearing could be held on the matter. On August
16, 2016, a hearing was held before the undersigned regarding Plaintiffs’ request for
damages. After reviewing the record and testimony at the damages hearing, the Court
finds good cause to grant Plaintiffs’ request for damages except for liquidated damages
under the FLSA.

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Plaintiffs request that the Court impose liquidated damages under the FLSA
against Ortiz. However, Plaintiffs acknowledge that they had previously recovered their
back wages and liquidated damages from other defendants. While Plaintiffs concede
they recovered damages from the other Defendants, they now request liquidated
damages from Ortiz in an amount admittedly greater than that recovery from the other
Defendants. As Plaintiffs acknowledge in their request for damages, they previously
received damages under their settlement agreement with the other Defendants and the
Court found that settlement to be fair. Plaintiffs were deemed to have been made whole
by the Court under the FLSA. Therefore, the instant claim for liquidated damages over
the amount recovered under the FLSA settlement agreement from the other Defendants
is due to be denied. Otherwise Plaintiffs’ claim for damages is granted.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
(1) Plaintiffs’ Request for Damages Pursuant to the Court's Entry of Default
Judgment is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Their claim for liquidated
damages under the FLSA is DENIED.

Otherwise, Plaintiffs’ claims for

damages are GRANTED as follows:2
a. Plaintiff Paulino Jose Juarez shall recover from Defendant Reyes TapiaOrtiz $704,482.55 in damages;
b. Plaintiff Alejandro Sanchez Perez shall recover from Defendant Reyes
Tapia-Ortiz $458,696.50 damages;

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The damages amounts were calculated from the amounts requested for each Plaintiff
in the Plaintiffs’ proposed damages minus the amount of liquidated damages under the
FLSA which were denied.

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c. Plaintiff Josue Cruz Velasco shall recover from Defendant Reyes TapiaOrtiz $1,052,523.16 in damages;
d. Plaintiff Juana Lopez Ramirez shall recover from Defendant Reyes
Tapia-Ortiz $350,655.36 in damages;
e. Plaintiff Marlyn Perez Perez shall recover from Defendant Reyes TapiaOrtiz $959,644.24 in damages; and
f. All Plaintiffs shall recover from Defendant Reyes Tapia-Ortiz interest at
the legal rate until each award is satisfied.
(2) The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment, terminate all deadlines and
motions, and close the file.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida this 10th day of February, 2017.

Copies: All Parties of Record

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