Vaccaro v. Custom Sounds, Inc. et al

Filing 24

ORDER granting 16 Motion for Default Judgment; adopting 23 Report and Recommendation; instructions to Clerk. Signed by Judge Timothy J. Corrigan on 3/24/2010. (JMM)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA JACKSONVILLE DIVISION LEWIS VACCARO, Plaintiff, vs. CUSTOM SOUNDS, INC., a Florida corporation, MELVILLE O. LETTSOME, and ELVIS LETTSOME, Defendants. ORDER This case, brought pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. ("FLSA"), is before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment against Defendants. (Doc. 16.) The Court previously reserved ruling on Plaintiff's motion pending the outcome of a damages hearing before the assigned United States Magistrate Judge. (Doc. 19.) The hearing was held on December 11, 2009 (Doc. 21), and the Honorable James R. Klindt issued a Report and Recommendation (Doc. 23) recommending that Plaintiff's damages be calculated as $19,424.00,1 attorney's fees be calculated as $2,970.00, and costs be calculated as $486.00, for a total of Case No. 3:08-cv-776-J-32JRK

This amount represents awards of (1) $164.80 in minimum wages plus $164.80 in liquidated damages; (2) $1,047.20 in unpaid overtime compensation plus $1,047.20 in liquidated damages; (3) $6,000.00 in lost wages plus $6,000.00 in liquidated damages; and (4) $5,000.00 in compensatory damages for emotional distress.
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$22,880.00. No party has filed any objections to the Report and Recommendation, and the time in which to do so has now passed. Accordingly, upon independent review of the file and for the reasons stated in the Report and Recommendation (Doc. 23) and this Court's prior Order (Doc. 19), it is hereby ORDERED: 1. 2. Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 16) is GRANTED. The Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge (Doc. 23) is

ADOPTED as the opinion of the Court.2 3. The Clerk is directed to enter a default judgment in favor of plaintiff,

LEWIS VACCARO, and against defendants CUSTOM SOUNDS, INC., MELVILLE O. LETTSOME, and ELVIS LETTSOME, jointly and severally, in the amount of $22,880.00. 4. Thereafter, the Clerk should close the file.

DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida, this 24th day of March, 2010.

While the Court adopts the Magistrate Judge's recommendation regarding the award of emotional distress damages in this default situation, the undersigned reserves judgment whether, in a contested case, emotional distress damages are awardable in an FLSA retaliation scenario.
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jmm Copies: Honorable James R. Klindt Counsel of record Custom Sounds, Inc. Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. Registered Agent 1840 SW 22 Street, 4th Floor Miami, FL 33145 Custom Sounds, Inc. 7715 Lem Turner Road Jacksonville, FL 32208 Melville O. Lettsome 8737 Darlington Drive Jacksonville, FL 32208 Elvis Lettsome 1433 Carbondale Court Jacksonville, FL 32208 Elvis Lettsome 15291 SW 139th Court Miami, FL 33177

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