Douglas v. Pilgrim Senior Citizens Housing Development Corporation

Filing 7

ORDER and FINAL JUDGMENT in favor of plaintiff. Case terminated on 6/6/2012(Signed by Judge Gray H. Miller) Parties notified.(rkonieczny)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
VANESSA DOUGLAS,
Plaintiff,
v.
PILGRIM SENIOR CITIZENS HOUSING
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ,
Defendant.

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CIVIL ACTION 11-3637

O RDER AND F INAL J UDGMENT
Pending before the court is plaintiff Vanessa Douglas’s motion for final default judgment
against defendant Pilgrim Senior Citizens Housing Development Corporation (“Pilgrim”). Dkt. 6.
For the following reasons, the motion is GRANTED.
I. B ACKGROUND
On October 12, 2011, plaintiff Vanessa Douglas filed this action for unpaid overtime wage
compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq. (“FLSA”).
Dkt. 1. In her complaint, Douglas alleges that from June 2008 through October 1, 2010, she worked
as a security guard for defendant Pilgrim, a corporation engaged in interstate commerce as defined
by the FLSA, and that during that period, Pilgrim failed to pay her overtime compensation in
violation of the FLSA. Id.
Pilgrim was duly served with process on November 29, 2011. Dkt. 4, Ex. A. The summons
requires Pilgrim to answer the complaint or file a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure within 21 days of service. Dkt. 4. To date, Pilgrim has not answered or otherwise made
an appearance. Douglas therefore moved for entry of default judgment on April 24, 2012, seeking

unpaid overtime wages, liquidated damages, and attorney’s fees and costs for a total of $17,724.00.
Dkt. 6.
II. L EGAL S TANDARD AND A NALYSIS
Douglas’s claim arises from the FLSA, which requires nonexempt workers to be paid
overtime compensation at a rate of not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of wage.
29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq. Pilgrim was served with process on November 29, 2011, but has not yet
responded. Plaintiff therefore moved for entry of default judgment, seeking damages including
$7,092.00 in unpaid overtime wages, $7,092.00 in liquidated damages, $3,130.00 in attorney’s fees
and $410.00 in costs, for a total of $17,724.00. Dkt. 6.
Pursuant to Rule 55 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, entry of a default judgment
is appropriate when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to
plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise. Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a).
By defaulting, a defendant admits to the well-pleaded facts in the complaint, except those relating
to the amount of damages. See Jackson v. FIE Corp., 302 F.3d 515, 525 n.29 (5th Cir. 2002). The
Local Rules of the Southern District of Texas further specify that a motion for default judgment
“must be served upon the defendant via certified mail, return receipt requested.” S.D. Tex. L.R. 5.5.
In this case, Pilgrim was served with process on November 29, 2011. Dkt. 4, Ex. A. On
April 24, 2012, Douglas mailed Pilgrim a copy of the motion for default judgment via certified mail,
return receipt requested, in compliance with Local Rule 5.5. Dkt. 6. Pilgrim has not responded.
Given Pilgrim’s failure to defend the case in a timely manner, the court has the authority to accept
all well-pleaded facts in the complaint as true and to award relief sought by Douglas.
Under the FLSA, an employer who fails to pay the overtime rate to its employees will be liable
for the unpaid overtime wages and “an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.” 29 U.S.C.
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§ 216 (b) (2006). The court shall also include in its judgment costs of suit and reasonable attorney's
fees. Id. For an employer to avoid liquidated damages, it must first show to the satisfaction of the
court that its failure to obey the statute was both in good faith and reasonable. 29 U.S.C. § 260. See
also Nero v. Industrial Molding Corp., 167 F.3d 921, 921 (5th Cir. 1999). In determining reasonable
attorney’s fees, the Fifth Circuit uses the “lodestar” method, multiplying the number of hours
reasonable spent on the case by an appropriate hourly rate in the community for similar work. See
Saizan v. Delta Concrete Products Co., Inc., 448 F.3d 795, 799 (5th Cir. 2006). Although the court
may then adjust the number upward or downward depending on circumstances of the case, a strong
presumption of the reasonableness of the lodestar amount exists. See id.; see also, La. Power & Light
Co. v. Keelstrom, 50 F.3d 319, 324-25 (5th Cir. 1995). Moreover, in assessing damages, the court
may “rely simply on affidavits.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55 (commentary on default judgment by court).
Where the amount of damages can be made certain by computation, a hearing is not necessary. Id.
In this case, Douglas has submitted a declaration, stating that from June 2008 through October
1, 2010, she worked as a security guard for Pilgrim, and that during that period, she worked a total
of 1,773 overtime hours for which she was only paid a regular hourly wage of $8.00 per hour. Dkt.
6, Ex. 1. Douglas claims that she is therefore owed $4.00 for each hour of overtime worked for a total
of $7,092.00. Id. The court finds that a security guard is a nonexempt worker as defined by the
FLSA. It further finds that the amount of compensatory damages as fixed in Douglas’s declaration
is appropriate. Moreover, since Pilgrim has defaulted and has not met its burden of showing good
faith and reasonableness, liquidated damages are also appropriate in this case. Accordingly, the court
awards Douglas unpaid overtime wages in the amount of $7,092.00 and liquidated damages in the
same amount, for a total of $14,184.00.

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Douglas also submitted a declaration in support of her request for attorney’s fees and costs.
Dkt. 6, Ex. 2. The declaration of her attorney and the attached billing record have detailed the charges
and the expenses incurred. Id. The court has reviewed the billing record, and found it to be welldocumented and the charges to be reasonable. Accordingly, the plaintiff is awarded attorney's fees
in the amount of $3,130.00 and costs in the amount $410.00.
III. C ONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Douglas's motion for default judgment is GRANTED. It is
ORDERED that Pilgrim is liable for and Douglas is AWARDED the following damages:
1. Compensatory damages in the sum of $7,092.00;
2. Liquidated damages in the sum of $7,092.00;
3. Attorney’s fees in the sum of $3,130.00;
4. Costs of the action in the sum of $410.00.
This is a FINAL JUDGMENT.
Signed at Houston, Texas on June 6, 2012.

___________________________________
Gray H. Miller
United States District Judge

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