Carranza v. Unique Auto Detail LLC et al

Filing 27

Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: ORDER entered denying without prejudice 26 Plaintiff's Application for Entry of Judgment. (Zaleski, Christine)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
_____________________________________
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RAUL CARRANZA,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
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UNIQUE AUTO DETAIL LLC,
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HECTOR BACHEZ, and
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MIRNA SALGUERO,
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Defendants.
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_____________________________________)

Civil Action No.
15-14020-FDS

ORDER ON APPLICATION FOR ENTRY OF JUDGMENT
SAYLOR, J.
This is a wage and benefits dispute. On November 1, 2016, the Court granted a motion
seeking a default judgment against defendants pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2)(A) as a
discovery sanction. Plaintiff now seeks entry of judgment in the amount of $62,284.75.
It appears that plaintiff seeks to recover double damages for unpaid wages pursuant to the
federal Fair Labor Standards Act and triple damages for the same unpaid wages pursuant to the
Massachusetts Wage Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148. In effect, plaintiff seeks to recover
his unpaid wages five times over. Of course, “[r]ecovery of duplicative damages under multiple
counts of a complaint is not permissible.” Szalla v. Locke, 421 Mass. 448, 453 (1995). Plaintiff
may recover double damages as liquidated damages under the FLSA or treble damages as
liquidated damages under the Wage Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 150—not both.
In addition, plaintiff seeks prejudgment interest as to his claims. However, he cannot
recover both prejudgment interest and liquidated damages concerning his FLSA claim. See

Lupien v. City of Marlborough, 387 F.3d 83, 90 (1st Cir. 2004). It is also not clear whether
prejudgment interest is available concerning his Massachusetts Wage Act claim. In 2015, the
First Circuit certified that question to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. See Travers v.
Flight Servs. & Sys., Inc., 808 F.3d 525, 551 (1st Cir. 2015). However, that case settled before
the SJC was able to issue a response. See Segal v. Johnson, 2016 WL 4161527, at *1 (Mass.
Super. July 6, 2016). One Massachusetts Superior Court has since held that prejudgment interest
is available only as to the actual amount of lost wages, rather than treble that amount. See id. at
3. It is therefore not clear whether prejudgment interest is available on the Wage Act claim, and
if it is, in what amount.
Finally, plaintiff seeks $5,000 in damages for harms arising out of his retaliation claim
pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, § 148A, trebled for a total of $15,000. It appears that
claim alleges damages separate and apart from unpaid wages. Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
55(b)(1), if a defaulted claim is for a “sum certain” or “a sum that can be made certain by
computation” then “no evidentiary hearing on damages is necessary.” KPS & Assocs., Inc. v.
Designs By FMC, Inc., 318 F.3d 1, 19 (1st Cir. 2003) (quoting Farm Family Mut. Ins. Co. v.
Thorn Lumber Co., 202 W.Va. 69, 73 (1998)). In all other cases, a hearing must be held. See id.
at 21. Plaintiff is directed to re-file his application for entry of judgment clarifying whether he
seeks damages for retaliation separate from lost wages such that a hearing would be required
under Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2).
For the foregoing reasons, the motion for entry of judgment is DENIED without
prejudice to its renewal.

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So Ordered.

/s/ F. Dennis Saylor
F. Dennis Saylor IV
United States District Judge

Dated: June 13, 2017

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