Amorim v. GMR International Cuisine, Inc. et al

Filing 18

ORDER granting 15 Motion for Default Judgment; adopting 16 Report and Recommendations. Signed by Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. on 8/28/2017. (VMF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
GUILHERME AMORIM,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 6:17-cv-578-Orl-37TBS

GMR INTERNATIONAL CUISINE,
INC.; and GILSON RODRIGUES,
Defendants.
_____________________________________
ORDER
In the instant action, Plaintiff sues Defendants GMR International Cuisine, Inc.
(“GMR”) and Gilson Rodrigues (“Mr. Rodrigues”), GMR’s president, registered agent,
and general manager, to recover unpaid overtime compensation under the Fair Labor
Standards Act (“FLSA”). (Doc. 1 (“Complaint”).) Defendants did not answer the
Complaint or otherwise appear in this action. Accordingly, the Clerk entered default
against them on May 24, 2017. (Docs. 13, 14.)
Plaintiff then moved for the entry of default judgment. (Doc. 15 (“Motion”).) In a
Report and Recommendation issued August 9, 2017, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas
B. Smith recommended that the Court grant the Motion and award Plaintiff: (1) $3,490.43
in actual damages; (2) $3,490.43 in statutory liquidated damages; and (3) $480 in costs.
(Doc. 16 (“R&R”).) Based on these respective amounts, Magistrate Judge Smith
recommends that the Court enter judgment in the amount of $7,460.86—accruing interest

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at the statutory rate—in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants, jointly and severally.1
(Id. at 10.)
No objections were filed, and the time for doing so has elapsed. So in the absence
of clear error, the Court finds that the R&R is due to be adopted. See Wiand v. Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A., No. 8:12-cv-557-T-27EAJ, 2016 WL 355490, at *1 (M.D. Fla. Jan. 28, 2016)
(finding that, in the absence of objections, district courts are required to review the report
and recommendation of a magistrate judge for clear error); see also Marcort v. Prem, Inc.,
208 F. App’x 781, 784 (11th Cir. 2006) (same).
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:
1.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. Smith’s Report and Recommendation
(Doc. 16) is ADOPTED, CONFIRMED, and made a part of this Order.

2.

Plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Final Default Judgment & Incorporated
Memorandum of Law (Doc. 15) is GRANTED.

3.

The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff Guilherme
Amorim and against Defendants GMR International Cuisine, Inc. and
Gilson Rodrigues, jointly and severally, in the amount of $7,460.86, accruing
interest at the statutory rate, and comprising:
a. $3,490.43 in actual damages;

1 “The

overwhelming weight of authority is that a corporate officer with
operational control of a corporation’s covered enterprise is an employer along with the
corporation, jointly and severally liable under the FLSA for unpaid wages.” Patel v.
Wargo, 803 F.2d 632, 637–38 (11th Cir. 1986). In the R&R, Magistrate Judge Smith found
that “[t]he averments in Plaintiff’s complaint and his affidavit testimony [were] sufficient
to substantiate Plaintiff’s claim that both Defendants were his employers.” (Doc. 16, p. 7.)
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b. $3,490.43 in statutory liquidated damages; and
c. $480 in costs.
4.

The Clerk is also DIRECTED to close the file.

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers in Orlando, Florida, on August 28, 2017.

Copies to:
Counsel of Record

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