Feuer et al v. Cornerstone Hotels Corp. et al

Filing 78

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS. the Court adopts the findings and recommendations contained in the well-reasoned and thorough R&R in their entirety. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgme nt is granted in its entirety, and the Court finds that:(1) Defendant Cornerstone Hotels Corp. is a covered employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., as well as plaintiffs' employer under the F LSA and the New York Labor Law ("NYLL"), N.Y. Lab. Law§ 190 et seq.; (2) Defendant Butt is individually liable as an employer under the FLSA and NYLL;(3) Defendants are liable for failing to provide wage notices and statements to plai ntiffs as required under NYLL §§ 195(1) and 195(3); and (4) Plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment on defendants' second and ninth affirmative defenses. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendant Butt's cross-motions to amend and f or summary judgment are denied in their entirety.IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall participate in a conference call with the Court on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. to discuss scheduling a trial in this action and the status of d efendant Cornerstone Hotels Corp. At the time of the conference, counsel for plaintiffs shall initiate the call and, once all parties are on the line, shall contact Chambers at [phone].. Ordered by Judge Joseph F. Bianco on 8/31/17. (Bollbach, Jean)cm by chambers

FILED

IN CLeRK'S OFFICE
U.S. DISTRICT COURT E.D.N. •

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

---------------------------------------------------------------){
SETH FEUER, et al.,

*

AUG 31 2017

LONG ISLANC OFFIC
Plaintiffs,
ORDER
14-CV-5388 (JFB)(SIL)

-againstCORNERSTONE HOTELS CORP., et al.,
Defendants.

---------------------------------------------------------------){
JOSEPH F. BIANCO, District Judge:
Before the Court is a Report and Recommendat;on ("R&R," ECF No. 76) from Magistrate
Judge Locke recommending that the Court (1) grant plaintiffs' motion for partial summary
judgment (ECF No. 55); and (2) deny defendant Naeem Butt's cross-motions to amend and for
summary judgment. The R&R instructed

th~t

any objections to the R&R be submitted within

fourteen (14) days of service of the R&R. (See R&R, dated August 4, 2017, at 33-34.) On
August 7, 2017, plaintiffs served a copy of.the R&R on defendants (ECF No. 77), and the date for
filing any objections has accordingly since expired. Defendants have not filed any objections to
the R&R. For the reasons set forth below, the Court adopts the thorough and well-reasoned R&R
in its entirety, grants plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, and denies defendant Butt's crossmotions to amend and for summary judgment.
Where there are no objections, the Court may adopt the report and recommendation without

de novo review. See Thomas v. Arn, 414 U.S. 140, 150 (1985) ("It does not appear that Congress
intended to require district court review of a magistrate's factual or legal conclusions, under a de

novo or any other standard, when neither party objects to those findings."); see also Mario v. P &
1

C Food Mkts., Inc., 313 F.3d 758, 766 (2d Cir. 2002) ~{"Where parties receive clear notice of the

consequences, failure timely to object to a magistrate's report and recommendation operates as a

waiver of further judicial review of the magistrate's decision."); cf 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l)(c) and
Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3) (requiring de novo review after objections). However, because the failure
to file timely objections is not jurisdictional, a district judge may still excuse the failure to object
in a timely manner and exercise its discretion to decide the case on the merits to, for example,
prevent plain error. See Cephas v. Nash, 328 F.3d 98, 107 (2d Cir. 2003) ("[B]ecause the waiver
rule is non jurisdictional, we 'may excuse the default in the interests ofjustice."' (quoting Thomas,
474 U.S. at 155)).

Although defendants have waived any objection to the R&R and thus de novo review is
not required, the Court has conducted a de novo review of the R&R in an abundance of caution.
Having conducted a review of the full record and the applicable law, and having reviewed the
R&R de novo, the Court adopts the findings and recommendations contained in the well-reasoned
and thorough R&R in their entirety. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs'
motion for partial summary judgment is granted in its entirety, and the Court finds that:
(1) Defendant Cornerstone Hotels Corp. is a covered employer under the Fair Labor
Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., as well as plaintiffs' employer under
the FLSA and the New York Labor Law ("NYLL"), N.Y. Lab. Law§ 190 et seq.;
(2) Defendant Butt is individually liable as an employer under the FLSA and NYLL;
(3) Defendants are liable for failing to provide wage notices and statements to plaintiffs as
required under NYLL §§ 195(1) and 195(3); and
(4) Plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment on defendants' second and ninth

affirmative defenses.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendant Butt's cross-motions to amend and for
summary judgment are denied in their entirety.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the parties shall participate in a conference call with the
Court on Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. to discuss scheduling a trial in this action and
the status of defendant Cornerstone Hotels Corp. At the time of the conference, counsel for
plaintiffs shall initiate the call and, once all parties are on the line, shall contact Chambers at (631)
712 5670.

\

Dated:

August~ 20 I 7
Central Islip, NY

JUDGE