Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_16-cv-00597/USCOURTS-azd-2_16-cv-00597-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 710
Nature of Suit: Fair Labor Standards Act
Cause of Action: 29:201 Denial of Overtime Compensation

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WO 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

Marco Gualotuna, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

Estrella Gymnastics LLC, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. CV-16-00597-PHX-DLR

ORDER 

 Before the Court is Plaintiff Marco Gualotuna’s Motion for Default. (Doc. 17.) 

For the following reasons, the motion is granted. 

BACKGROUND 

 On March 4, 2016, Plaintiff brought this action against Defendant Estrella 

Gymnastics LLC for unlawful failure to pay overtime wages in violation of the Fair 

Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (Doc. 1.) Plaintiff served 

Defendant with the summons and complaint on March 10, 2016. (Doc. 8.) Defendant 

has not appeared. On May 11, 2016, the Clerk of the Court entered default against 

Defendant. (Doc. 13.) Plaintiff now moves for entry of default judgment. (Doc. 17.) 

Plaintiff seeks $66,000 in statutory damages, $6,206 in attorneys’ fees, and $746 in costs. 

(Id.) 

LEGAL STANDARD 

 When determining whether to enter a default judgment, the court should consider 

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factors such as: 

 (1) the possibility of prejudice to the plaintiff, (2) the merits of plaintiff's substantive claim, (3) the sufficiency of the complaint, (4) the sum of money at stake in the action, (5) the possibility of a dispute concerning material facts, (6) whether the default was due to excusable neglect, and (7) the strong policy underlying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure favoring decisions on the merits. 

Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470, 1471-72 (9th Cir. 1986). In applying these factors, “the 

well-pleaded factual allegations of the complaint are taken as true, except for those 

allegations relating to damages.” Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Castworld Prod., Inc., 219 

F.R.D. 494, 498 (C.D. Cal. 2003). 

DISCUSSION 

 Under the FLSA, covered employers must pay their employees one and one-half 

times their regular rate for work exceeding forty hours per workweek. 29 U.S.C. § 

207(a)(1). Plaintiff alleges that he was hired by Defendant in June 2014 as the general 

manager of a children’s gymnasium. (Doc. 1, ¶¶ 15-16.) His job duties included 

cleaning the gymnasium, preparing equipment, teaching classes, taking out trash, and 

handling customer service. (Id., ¶¶ 17-18.) Plaintiff was compensated at an hourly rate 

of $25. (Id., ¶ 19.) His primary duties did not involve management or general business 

operations, nor did his job require advanced knowledge in science or learning. (Id., ¶¶ 

58-61.) Plaintiff alleges that he was required to be at the gymnasium seven days per 

week and that he worked from 4:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Saturday, and from 

8:00 am to 2:00 pm on Sunday. (Id., ¶¶ 68-69.) Nevertheless, Defendants did not pay 

Plaintiff overtime and occasionally would pay him for only 25 hours of work. (Id., ¶¶ 71-

72.) 

 Plaintiff’s complaint sufficiently alleges a meritorious claim for overtime pay 

under the FLSA. Plaintiff substantiates his allegations with his own sworn declaration. 

(Doc. 17-2.) Although the actual number of hours Plaintiff worked, the compensation he 

was paid, and the nature of his job duties conceivably could be disputed, the Court has no 

reason to doubt the veracity of Plaintiff’s sworn statements. Plaintiff seeks $66,000 in 

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statutory damages, $6,206 in attorneys’ fees, and $746 in costs. Although this amount is 

considerable, it is not exorbitant. Nor does Rule 55 limit the amount that can be 

recovered through a default judgment. 

 Although “[c]ases should be decided upon their merits whenever reasonably 

possible,” Eitel, 782 F.2d at 1472, Defendant’s failure to participate in this litigation 

makes a decision on the merits impossible. Indeed, Defendant was served with the 

summons and complaint but has made no effort to respond or otherwise participate in this 

action. Nothing suggests that Defendant’s default was the result of excusable neglect. 

Moreover, Plaintiff will be prejudiced if no default judgment is entered. Plaintiff 

diligently has sought to litigate his claims, but has been unable to do so because of 

Defendant’s failure to participate. On balance, the Court finds that the Eitel factors 

support entry of default judgment against Defendant. 

 An employer who violates the FLSA’s overtime provisions is “liable to the 

employee or employees affected in the amount of . . . their unpaid overtime compensation 

. . . and in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.” 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). 

Plaintiff states that he worked 880 overtime hours and that he “was never paid time and 

one half for any hours over forty . . . that [he] worked in a single work week.” (Doc. 17-2 

at 3.) Plaintiff’s overtime rate would have been $37.50 per hour. This amounts to 

$33,000 in unpaid overtime compensation. (Id.) Accordingly, the Court awards Plaintiff 

$33,000 in unpaid overtime compensation, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated 

damages, for a total of $66,000. 

 In addition to these damages, the FLSA also requires the offending employer to 

pay a successful plaintiff’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). 

Attorney Trey Dayes performed 6.8 hours of work at a rate of $475 per hour. (Docs. 17-

3, 17-4.) Attorneys Sean Davis and Preston Flood performed a combined 7 hours of 

work at a rate of $375 per hour. (Id.) Paralegal Nasser Abujbarah performed 1.8 hours 

of work at a rate of $195 per hour. (Id.) Plaintiff provided a task-based itemization of 

these services, which include drafting the complaint and motion for default judgment. 

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(Doc. 17-4.) The Court finds that the requested fees are reasonable and awards Plaintiff 

$6,206 in attorneys’ fees and $746 in costs. 

IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment, (Doc. 17), is 

GRANTED. The Clerk shall enter judgment awarding Plaintiff $66,000 in damages, 

$6,206 in attorneys’ fees, and $746 in costs. Post-judgement interest shall accrue at a rate 

of 0.66% per annum. The Clerk shall terminate this case. 

 Dated this 27th day of October, 2016. 

Douglas L. Rayes 

United States District Judge 

 

 

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