Case Information
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA MIAMI DIVISION
CASE NO. 08-CV-23563-KING
ALEXANDER SANTOS, Plaintiff, vs. CCT CORPORATION, CAROLINA LOYALOA, and CHRISTIAN OLLINO,
Defendants.
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LIQUIDATED DAMAGES
THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Plaintiff's Motion for Imposition of Liquidated Damages (DE #61) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This matter proceeded to a jury trial on August 17, 2009. At the close of Plaintiff's case, the Court granted Defendants' Rule 50 motion for judgment as a matter of law. However, pursuant to a pretrial agreement, the Court ordered Defendants to pay Plaintiff in overtime pay.
In the instant motion, Plaintiff now argues that liquidated damages, equal to the amount of actual damages, should be imposed because Defendants did not act in good faith in determining whether it had to comply with FLSA obligations. See, e g., Rodriguez v. Farm Stores Grocery, Inc., 518 F.3d 1259, 1272 (11th Cir. 2008). The Court disagrees. The evidence adduced at trial demonstrates that Defendants took affirmative steps to verify their FLSA obligations, and acted in good faith when they originally refused to pay Plaintiff overtime wages. Defendants had a subjective and objectively reasonable belief that Plaintiff was an independent
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contractor and therefore exempt from FLSA. Accordingly, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that:
- Plaintiff's Motion for Imposition of Liquidated Damages (DE #61) be, and the same is hereby, DENIED.
- All pending motions are DENIED as MOOT.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, at Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida, this 21st day of August, 2009.
Cc:
Clerk of Court
Counsel for Plaintiff
Jamie H. Zidell 300 71st Street Suite 605 Miami Beach, FL 33141 305-865-6766 Fax: 865-7167 Email: ZABOGADO@AOL.COM LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED Isaac Jackie Mamane J. H. Zidell
300 71st Street Suite 605 Miami Beach, FL 33141 Email: Mamane@gmail.com
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K. David Kelly
J.H. Zidell, P.A.
300 71st. Street
Suite 605
Miami Beach, FL 33141
305-865-6766
Fax: 305-865-7167
Email: krl_kelly@yahoo.com
ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED
Counsel for Defendant
Neil Benedict Mooney The Mooney Law Firm, LLC 1911 Capital Circle NE Tallahassee, FL 32308 850-893-0670 Fax: 850-391-4228 Email: nmooney@customscourt.com TERMINATED: 06/10/2009 LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED Randy Alan Fleischer Randy A. Fleischer Law Offices 8258 State Road 84 Davie, FL 33324 Fax: 472-8446 Email: randy@igc.org LEAD ATTORNEY ATTORNEY TO BE NOTICED