Hernandez v. Mitad del Mundo Bar Restaurant Corp. et al

Filing 12

ORDER granting 11 Motion to Certify FLSA Collective Action. The Proposed Order, at 12 , is so-ordered, with the modifications to Exhibits A and B (correcting the courthouse address and adjusting the Notice date to May) as reflected in the attachments hereto. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo on 5/6/2016. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B) (Feldman, Shira)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
Vilma “Carolina” Hernandez and Mary
Cruz Garcia, on behalf of themselves and all
other persons similarly situated,
DOCKET NO. 15-CV-6571
(MKB) (PK)

Plaintiffs,
- vs. –

ORDER

Mitad del Mundo Bar Restaurant Corp.,
Segundo Minchala, and John Does #1-10,
Defendants.
This is not an attorney solicitation. This is a notice authorized by the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of New York.
If you are or were employed by Mitad del Mundo Bar Restaurant Corp, as a server, and
you are currently employed in that position or were employed in that position within three
years prior to the date of this notice, and you were not paid the minimum wage or overtime
wages, please read this notice.
1. WHY DID I GET THIS NOTICE?
The purpose of this legal notice is to inform you that a lawsuit has been filed against Mitad del
Mundo Bar Restaurant Corp. for unpaid minimum wages and overtime wages, and that you may
be eligible to join the lawsuit.
This notice has been sent so that other individuals who may be “similarly situated” to the
plaintiffs can become aware of their rights and join the lawsuit – or not – at their choice.
This notice advises you about how your rights may be affected by this lawsuit and how you may
participate in this lawsuit, if you wish to do so and are eligible to do so.
2. WHAT IS THE LAWSUIT ABOUT?
Plaintiffs Vilma “Carolina” Hernandez and Mary Cruz Garcia, both of whom claim that they
were former servers for Mitad del Mundo Bar Restaurant Corp., filed a lawsuit against this
restaurant on November 16, 2015. They allege that the restaurant violated the Federal Fair Labor
Standards Act and New York Labor Law by not paying them the minimum wage, or overtime
compensation at the rate of time and one-half for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a
week. Defendants disagree, and claim they properly paid their employees all wages they were
owed. The lawsuit is in the discovery phase and the court has not made any rulings as to any of
the parties’ claims or defenses.

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3. WHO MAY JOIN THE LAWSUIT?
If you are currently employed, or were employed within three years prior to the date of this
notice, as a server for Mitad del Mundo Bar Restaurant Corp. and you did not receive the
minimum wage or overtime wages, then you may be eligible to join this lawsuit. Joining this
lawsuit does not mean that you necessarily are entitled to any money. The determination of
whether you will be entitled to any money will be made by the judge.
You have a right to participate in this lawsuit even if you are undocumented or were paid off-thebooks or in cash. You do not need to have paystubs or other records in order to participate.
4. HOW DO I JOIN?
If you fit within the definition of the eligible plaintiffs described above, you may join this lawsuit
in either of two ways:
(1) You may join this lawsuit by completing and returning the attached blue “Consent to Become
Party Plaintiff” form to plaintiffs’ counsel at the address listed below. The return envelope is preaddressed and postage-paid for your convenience, or you may fax your signed copy back. Should
the enclosed Consent form be lost or misplaced, you may contact plaintiffs’ counsel:
David Stein
SAMUEL & STEIN
38 West 32nd Street, Suite 1110
New York, NY 10001
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
The Consent form must be sent to plaintiffs’ counsel in sufficient time to have plaintiffs’ counsel
file it with the Court on or before [60 days].
-OR(2) You may also join the lawsuit by retaining another lawyer of your own choosing. If you do
so, your chosen attorney, must file an “opt-in” consent form with the Court on or before [60
days]. The address of the Court is:
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Attn: Clerk of the Court
225 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, New York 11201
The Clerk of the Court cannot give legal advice about this lawsuit. No phone calls to the Court
are permitted concerning this lawsuit.
If you fail to file the “opt-in” consent form with the court or return the return the blue “Consent
to Become Party Plaintiff” form to plaintiffs’ counsel on or before the above deadline, you may
not be able to participate as a plaintiff in this lawsuit.

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5. WHAT HAPPENS IF I JOIN?
If you choose to join in this lawsuit, you will be bound by the Judgment in this lawsuit, whether
it is favorable or unfavorable to you.
If you join the lawsuit by signing and returning the blue “Consent to Become Party Plaintiff”
form, the lawyers for the plaintiffs will represent you. These lawyers are representing the
plaintiffs on a contingency basis. They will not get paid unless they obtain money for you and
the plaintiffs. If there is a recovery, the plaintiffs’ lawyers will receive a part of any settlement
obtained or money judgment obtained in favor of all plaintiffs. The amount they will get paid
will be determined by the Court.
If you choose to join this suit and agree to be represented by the named Plaintiffs through their
attorney, your counsel in this action will be:
David Stein
SAMUEL & STEIN
38 West 32nd Street, Suite 1110
New York, NY 10001
Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]
If you retain another attorney of your own choosing you will need to make arrangements as to
payment directly with that attorney.
If you join this lawsuit, you may be asked to give sworn testimony and information about your
work for Mitad del Mundo Bar Restaurant Corp., to help the Court decide whether you are owed
money.
6. AND IF I DO NOT JOIN?
If you do not wish to be part of the lawsuit, you do not need to do anything. If you do not join the
lawsuit, you will not be part of the lawsuit in any way and will not be bound or affected by the
result of the lawsuit (whether favorable or unfavorable).
If you decide not to join the lawsuit, you retain your right to bring a similar lawsuit on your own
at a future time. However, claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be brought within 2
years of the date the claim accrues, unless the employer’s violation of the law is deemed to be
“willful,” in which case the claim must be brought within 3 years.
7. NO RETALIATION PERMITTED
Federal and State law prevent anyone from retaliating against you based on your decision to
either join or not join this lawsuit. Defendants are prevented from taking any action against you.
Specifically, defendants are prohibited from discharging you from your position of employment
or in any other manner penalizing you or discriminating against you because you received this
notice or join this lawsuit, or because you in any other way exercise your rights under the Fair
Labor Standards Act.

Questions? Please call Samuel & Stein at [phone] or email [e-mail]

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8. COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS
The attorneys for Defendants in this case are:
Victor J. Molina, Esq.
Law Office of Victor J. Molina
930 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451
Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]
9. FURTHER INFORMATION
Additional information can be obtained from the lawyers listed in Paragraphs 5 and 8. You may
also examine the Court file in this case, in person, at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza
East, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11201. You may also view the case file via the Internet, for a
fee, using the Court’s PACER service. Go to www.pacer.psc.uscourts.gov for more information.
Other than in-person requests to examine the file at the Clerk’s Office, no inquiries
concerning this case should be directed to the Court or to the Clerk of the Court.
DATED: May ___, 2016
THE COURT TAKES NO POSITION IN THIS CASE REGARDING THE MERITS OF
PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS OR OF DEFENDANTS’ DEFENSES.

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