UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 

CASE NO. 1:20-cv-22667-RNS 

FONTAINEBLEAU FLORIDA HOTEL, LLC, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

THE SOUTH FLORIDA HOTEL AND CULINARY 

EMPLOYEES WELFARE FUND, and UNITE HERE, 

LOCAL 355, 

Defendants. 

WENDI WALSH, MICHAEL J. D’ANGELO, JEREMY 

CRUZ HAICKEN, and GEORGE GREENE as Trustees 

of THE SOUTH FLORIDA HOTEL AND CULINARY 

EMPLOYEES WELFARE FUND, 

Counter Plaintiffs, 

v. 

FONTAINEBLEAU FLORIDA HOTEL, LLC, 

Counter Defendant. 

UNITE HERE, LOCAL 355, 

Counterclaim Plaintiff, 

v. 

FONTAINEBLEAU FLORIDA HOTEL, LLC; DOES 1-

50, 

Counterclaim Defendants. 

JOINT INTERIM STATUS REPORT 

Counter-Defendant Fontainebleau Florida Hotel, LLC (“Fontainebleau”) and CounterPlaintiffs UNITE HERE, Local 355 (“Local 355”); The South Florida Hotel and Culinary 

Employees Welfare Fund (the “Fund”); and Wendi Walsh, Michael J. D’Angelo, Jeremy Cruz 

Haicken and George Greene as Trustees of the Fund (“Trustees”) (collectively, the “CounterCase 1:20-cv-22667-RNS Document 52 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/23/2020 Page 1 of 3
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Plaintiffs”), pursuant to the Court’s Scheduling Order and Order of Referral to Mediation [DE 37] 

entered on September 17, 2020, submit this Joint Interim Status Report addressing the following 

issues. 

a) Have all defendants been served? Yes. 

b) Have all defendants responded to the complaint? Yes. The Fund and Trustees have 

filed an Answer and Counterclaim to the original Complaint [DE 18] and Fontainebleau has 

answered the Fund’s Counterclaim [DE 22]. Local 355 likewise filed an Answer to the original 

Complaint [DE 17] and Fontainebleau has answered Local 355’s Counterclaim [DE 23]. 

Fontainebleau’s first amended complaint has been dismissed, so only the counterclaims remain in 

the case. 

c) If this is a class action, has a motion for class certification been filed? This is not a 

class action. 

d) Have the parties agreed on and selected a mediator? Have the parties agreed upon a 

place, date, and time for mediation? The parties have not agreed on nor selected a mediator but 

will select a mediator and select a place, date, and time for mediation by the current due date of 

March 11, 2021, and will complete mediation by May 20, 2021. 

e) Have the parties engaged in informal settlement negotiations? The parties have 

engaged in some informal settlement negotiations, which reached an impasse in September 2020. 

The prospects for a resolution through informal means is undetermined. 

f) Describe the status of discovery conducted to date, and identify whether the parties 

reasonably believe they will be able to complete discovery by the Court’s deadline. The 

parties have exchanged Initial Disclosures pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 and have served written 

Case 1:20-cv-22667-RNS Document 52 Entered on FLSD Docket 12/23/2020 Page 2 of 3
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discovery requests and responses to same. The parties believe they will be able to complete all 

fact discovery by the present deadline of April 22, 2021. 

g) Identify any other issues that the Court should be aware of that may affect the 

resolution of this matter or the schedule as currently set. There are no pending motions in this 

matter. 

Dated: December 23, 2020. 

SUGARMAN & SUSSKIND, P.A. 

By: /s/ D. Marcus Braswell, Jr. 

D. Marcus Braswell, Jr., FL 46160 

Howard S. Susskind, FL 184696 

100 Miracle Mile, Suite 300

Coral Gables, FL 33134 

Telephone: (305) 529-2801 

Facsimile: (305) 447-8115 

Email: mbraswell@sugarmansusskind.com 

hsusskind@sugarmansusskind.com 

Attorneys for Counter Plaintiff The South 

Florida Welfare Fund, Counter Plaintiffs Fund 

Trustees, and Counter Plaintiff UNITE HERE, 

Local 355 

McCRACKEN, STEMERMAN & 

HOLSBERRY, LLP 

By: /s/ Kristin L. Martin

Kristin L. Martin, CA Bar No. 206528 

(admitted Pro Hac Vice) 

595 Market Street, Suite 800 

San Francisco, CA 94105 

Telephone: (415) 597-7200 

Facsimile: (415) 597-7201 

Email: klm@msh.law 

Attorneys for Counter Plaintiff UNITE HERE, 

Local 355

OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK & 

STEWART, P.C. 

By: /s/ Charles E. Engeman 

Charles E. Engeman 

(admitted Pro Hac Vice) 

The Tunick Building 

1336 Beltjen Road, Suite 201 

St. Thomas, USVI 00802 

Telephone: (340) 714-1233 

Facsimile: (340) 714-1245 

Email: Charles.Engeman@ogletree.com 

By: /s/ Russell S. Buhite 

Russell S. Buhite, FL 831085 

1201 Third Avenue, Suite 5150 

Seattle, WA 98101 

Telephone: (206) 693-7057 

Facsimile: (206) 693-7058 

Email: Russell.Buhite@ogletree.com 

Attorneys for Counter Defendant Fontainebleau 

Hotel Florida, LLC

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