1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

2 MIAMI DIVISION

3 CASE NO.: 1:22-CV-23074-BLOOM/OTAZO-REYES

4 OCTAVIO COLLADO, for himself and

all others similarly situated,

5

 Plaintiff,

6 vs.

7 450 NORTH RIVER DRIVE, LLC,

D/B/A KIKI ON THE RIVER, RJ

8 RIVER, LLC, AND ROMAN JONES,

9 Defendants.

________________________________/

10

11 DEPOSITION OF

12 OCTAVIO COLLADO

13

14 Tuesday, December 12, 2023

 9:23 a.m. - 6:25 p.m.

15

16 Two South Biscayne Boulevard

 Suite 3500

17 Miami, Florida 33131

18

19

20

21

22

23 Stenographically Reported By:

 Gina Rodriguez, RPR, CRR

24

25

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1 APPEARANCES:

2 On behalf of Plaintiffs:

3 FAIRLAW FIRM

 135 San Lorenzo Avenue

4 Coral Gables, Florida 33146

 (305)230-4884

5 BY: BRIAN POLLOCK, ESQUIRE

 brian@fairlawattorney.com

6

7 On behalf of Defendants 450 North River Drive, LLC;

Kiki On the River; and Roman Jones:

8

 JACKSON LEWIS P.C.

9 One Biscayne Tower, Suite 3500

 Two South Biscayne Boulevard

10 Miami, Florida 33131

 (305)577-7600

11 BY: REYNALDO VELAZQUEZ, ESQUIRE

 rey.velazquez@jacksonlewis.com

12 BY: ROMAN SARANGOULIS, ESQUIRE

 roman.sarangoulis@jacksonlewis.com

13

14 On behalf of Defendant RJ River, LLC:

15 LEVINE & PARTNERS, P.A.

 3350 Mary Street

16 Miami, Florida 33133

 (305)373-1352

17 BY: ALLAN REISS, ESQUIRE

 asr@levinelawfirm.com

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Page 3

1 I N D E X

2 Examination Page

3 OCTAVIO COLLADO

Direct By Mr. Velazquez 5

4

 E X H I B I T S

5

6 No. Page

7 Exhibit 1 Third Amendment Complaint 15

8 Exhibit 2 Tip Pool Notice, KIKI005731 - 97

 5732

9

Exhibit 3 Tip Pool Notice, KIKI005728 102

10

Exhibit 4 Tip Pool Notice, KIKI005726 104

11

Exhibit 5 Employee Statement of 174

12 Earnings, KIKI000008 - 14

13 Exhibit 6 Payroll Register, composite 185

 exhibit

14

Exhibit 7 Payroll Register 187

15

Exhibit 8 Payroll Register Preview 189

16

Exhibit 9 Kiki Restaurant Sales by 190

17 Range Report

18 Exhibit 10 Kiki Restaurant, Sales by 195

 Range Report

19

Exhibit 11 Kiki Restaurant, Sales by 196

20 Range Report KIKI 003601 -

 3704

21

Exhibit 12 Sales Summary Export, KIKI 200

22 003705 - 3804

23 Exhibit 13 Plaintiff's Responses to 220

 Defendant's First Set of

24 Interrogatories

25

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1 E X H I B I T S

2 No. Page

3

Exhibit 14 Plaintiff's Statement of 223

4 Claim

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

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1 THE COURT REPORTER: Raise your right hand,

2 please.

3 Do you swear that the testimony you're

4 about to give will be the truth, the whole

5 truth, and nothing but the truth?

6 THE WITNESS: Yes.

7 Thereupon:

8 OCTAVIO COLLADO,

9 having been first duly sworn, was examined and

10 testified as follows:

11 DIRECT EXAMINATION

12 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

13 Q. Can you please state and spell your name

14 for the record.

15 A. My name is Octavio Collado, O-C-T-A-V-I-O,

16 C-O-L-L-A-D-O.

17 Q. Okay. Mr. Collado, my name is

18 Rey Velazquez, and I'm representing Roman Jones and

19 Kiki On the River on this case. And to my left is

20 Mr. Allan Reiss, and he's representing RJ River. And

21 we're going to be asking you some questions today

22 pertaining to the allegations that you've presented.

23 First of all, just some background

24 information. You know, it's very likely that during

25 the course of the deposition, I'm going to be asking

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1 YOU questions that will necessitate a yes or a no

2 answer. And sometimes witnesses have a tendency to

3 nod their answer. The court reporter can't take

4 that answer down. Please articulate "yes" or "no,"

5 as opposed to nodding.

6 If you have any issues understanding the

7 question, feel free to let me know, I'll rephrase

8 it. If you need a break, convey that to me as well.

9 If I'm in the middle of the questions or a series of

10 question, I might delay it a little bit, but

11 eventually I most definitely will give you a break.

12 In order to help the court reporter get a

13 clean record, sometimes you might know where I'm

14 going with a question or think you know the answer.

15 It's better if you just let me finish the question

16 and then you convey your answer and that way you

17 hear my question in its entirety, and she has an

18 opportunity as well to get the question and your

19 answer, and that way we avoid speaking over

20 ourselves.

21 During the course of the deposition, I'm

22 going to refer to the corporate name of Kiki, which

23 is 450 North River Drive, LLC, I'm going to refer to

24 them as "Kiki" or "Kiki On the River." So whenever

25 you hear "Kiki" or "Kiki On the River," I'm

Page 7

1 referring to 450 North River Drive, LLC. Okay?

2 Do you understand also that the deposition

3 that you're going to give here today could be read

4 back at trial or in hearings in this case?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Okay. Have you taken any medications or

7 over-the-counter drugs that could affect your

8 testimony today?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Okay. Have you ever taken any -- have you

11 taken any drugs that could affect your testimony

12 today?

13 A. No, sir.

14 Q. Okay. Do you suffer from any illness or

15 condition that could affect your testimony today?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Okay. Do you understand that you're under

18 oath?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. And do you understand that when you're

21 under oath, you have to say the truth even if the

22 truth is bad for your case?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Okay. And you also understand that lying

25 under oath is a crime?

Page 8

1 A. Yes.

2 Q. Okay. Have you ever been deposed?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Okay. Have you ever been involved in a

5 civil lawsuit?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Have you ever been convicted of a crime?

8 A. Pleading guilty is a conviction.

9 Q. So, yes, you have been convicted of a

10 crime?

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. And what were you arrested for that led to

13 your conviction?

14 A. It was a conspiracy case.

15 Q. Okay. And what was the nature of the

16 conspiracy that you were charged with?

17 A. Drug trafficking.

18 Q. And when were you convicted of drug

19 trafficking?

20 A. In 2002.

21 Q. And what were the facts behind the

22 conviction that led -- behind the arrest that led to

23 your conviction for drug trafficking?

24 MR. POLLOCK: Objection to form.

25 You can answer.

Page 9

1 THE WITNESS: What?

2 MR. POLLOCK: I objected to the form of the

3 question, but you can answer.

4 A. Just involved in the wrong situation. And

5 having knowledge of something is a conspiracy, so I

6 had knowledge of certain things that was going on.

7 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

8 Q. And what knowledge did you have of things

9 that were going on that led to your arrest and

10 conviction?

11 MR. POLLOCK: The same objection.

12 A. It's drug trafficking. It's transportation

13 of drugs and selling of drugs.

14 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

15 Q. And were you involved in the drug

16 trafficking?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. And what part of the drug trafficking were

19 you involved in?

20 MR. POLLOCK: The same objection.

21 A. Selling and transportation.

22 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

23 Q. And what drugs were you selling and

24 transporting?

25 A. Cocaine.

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1 MR. POLLOCK: The same objections.

2 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

3 Q. Did you serve any jail time for the

4 conviction?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Were you placed on parole or some type

7 of --

8 A. Probation.

9 Q. Probation. And how long was your

10 probation?

11 A. Four years.

12 Q. And where was the conviction?

13 MR. POLLOCK: The same objections.

14 A. Eastern District of New York.

15 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

16 Q. That was the Eastern District of New York?

17 A. Yes, sir.

18 Q. And what was the year -- oh, you told me,

19 2002.

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. And how long were you on probation?

22 A. Four years.

23 Q. And what quantities of cocaine were you

24 trafficking?

25 MR. POLLOCK: Objection to form.

Page 11

1 A. It was a ten-year span, so just add

2 everything up. It was over 5 kilos, you could say.

3 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

4 Q. And other than your conviction for cocaine

5 trafficking in 2002, have you been convicted of any

6 other crimes?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Did you speak to anybody today in

9 anticipation of your deposition?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Did you meet with your attorney to prepare

12 for the deposition?

13 A. Did I meet with them?

14 Q. Yes.

15 A. No.

16 Q. Did you review any documents to prepare for

17 your deposition?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Did you speak to your attorney to prepare

20 for your deposition today?

21 A. Well, I had to get the address, yes.

22 Q. And other than the address of the location

23 of your deposition, did you speak to your attorney

24 about your deposition today?

25 A. Yes, of course.

Page 12

1 Q. Okay. And how long did you speak with your

2 attorney about your deposition today?

3 A. About an hour and a half, two hours, maybe.

4 Q. And that conversation occurred on the

5 phone?

6 A. Zoom call.

7 Q. Zoom. During that Zoom call, did you

8 review any documents?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Other than the two hours that you spent,

11 approximately one and a half to two hours that you

12 spent on the Zoom call with your attorney, did you do

13 anything to prepare for your deposition today?

14 A. No.

15 Q. What's your current address?

16 A. 8250 Northwest 5th Terrace, Apartment 362,

17 Miami, Florida 33126.

18 Q. And how long have you resided at the 8250

19 address?

20 A. Six years.

21 Q. And where did you reside prior to the 8250

22 address?

23 A. 9201 West Flagler Street, Apartment 201 as

24 well. Um, probably, Apartment 201. 33174 is the ZIP

25 code.

Page 13

1 Q. And how long did you reside at the 9201

2 address?

3 A. Nine years.

4 Q. Do you own the 8250 address?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do you own or did you own the 9201 address?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Do you live with anybody at the 8250

9 address?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. Who resides with you at the 8250 address?

12 A. My spouse and my two children.

13 Q. And how long have you been married to your

14 spouse?

15 A. 22 years.

16 Q. And how old are your children?

17 A. 17 and 10.

18 Q. Have you spoken to your spouse about this

19 case?

20 A. Not about the case, but she knows I'm

21 involved in a case.

22 Q. And what about your involvement does your

23 spouse know about the case?

24 A. No, that I have a -- that I have court

25 appearance or -- and I was seeing the attorneys.

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1 Q. And what is your spouse's name?

2 A. Ingrid.

3 Q. Last name?

4 A. De Leon.

5 MR. REISS: I'm sorry, what was that last

6 name?

7 A. De Leon.

8 MR. REISS: Can you spell that for me,

9 please?

10 A. D-E-L-E-O-N.

11 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

12 Q. Have you spoken to your spouse about the

13 claims pertaining to alleged violations of the FLSA's

14 tipping requirement?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Have you spoken to your spouse about your

17 minimum wage allegations?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Have you spoken to your spouse about your

20 Florida common law claims pertaining to tips?

21 A. No.

22 Q. So your testimony today is that your wife

23 has no knowledge about the facts that are alleged in

24 this lawsuit?

25 A. That's correct.

Page 15

1 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 1.)

2 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

3 Q. Let me show what we'll mark as 1.

4 A. May I sign this?

5 Q. No, no, you don't have to sign it.

6 Let me go back a second, Mr. Collado. Is

7 it Collado or Collado?

8 A. Collado.

9 Q. Okay. Now, let's go back a second to the

10 drug trafficking conviction. You said you were on

11 probation for four years?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. And did you successfully complete that

14 probation?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Okay. You can take a look at what we've

17 marked as Number 1 and let me know when you're ready

18 to answer some questions.

19 A. Okay.

20 Q. Have you seen the document that's been

21 marked as Defense Exhibit 1 prior to today?

22 A. I'm looking at it, yes.

23 Q. Have you seen it prior to today?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Did you review Defense Exhibit 1 before it

Page 16

1 was filed with the Court?

2 A. I don't recall, actually.

3 Q. Your 9201 address, who resided with you

4 there?

5 A. My wife and my one child and her daughter.

6 My wife's daughter.

7 Q. Okay. So your spouse was previously

8 married?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. Okay. And how old is the daughter of your

11 spouse from the prior marriage?

12 A. She's -- right now, she's 25, I believe.

13 Q. Have you spoken to your spouse's daughter

14 about this case?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Does she know about the existence of the

17 lawsuit against Kiki On the River?

18 A. No, she's seen the TikTok videos. She's

19 seen them.

20 Q. Okay. Have you had any conversations with

21 your spouse's daughter regarding this litigation?

22 A. No.

23 Q. And what is your spouse's daughter's name?

24 A. Michelle.

25 Q. Last name?

Page 17

1 A. Campos.

2 Q. Is Michelle Campos currently married?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. And what is her husband's name?

5 A. It's crazy, excuse me. I'm going to have

6 to look him up.

7 MR. POLLOCK: You don't have to look him

8 up. If you remember, you remember.

9 A. I don't talk to him like that.

10 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

11 Q. You don't remember his name?

12 A. Hold on a second, give me a second. No, I

13 can't remember his name. That's crazy.

14 Q. Do you have his name on your phone?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Can you look it up for me, please?

17 MR. POLLOCK: No, we're not going to do

18 that. It's not a duces tecum deposition, so

19 what he remembers, what he has in his head, you

20 can ask him questions about that, but we're not

21 going to go through his phone.

22 MR. VELAZQUEZ: So you're going to instruct

23 him not to answer that question?

24 MR. POLLOCK: I'm going to instruct him to

25 tell about what he knows off the top of his

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1 head, but if he has something --

2 Put your phone away.

3 If he doesn't know it off the top of his

4 head, then we're not going to look at it now.

5 You can send a follow-up discovery request

6 letter.

7 MR. REISS: For the record, the witness is

8 getting calls, looking at his phone, testified

9 he has the information, he's refusing to turn

10 over the information. It's a duly noticed

11 deposition. Just for the record, I object to

12 your instruction, I object to your refusal to

13 answer questions that will be properly asked to

14 you pursuant to a federal judge's court order,

15 and we'll take the appropriate action.

16 A. Just remembered his name now. Alex.

17 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

18 Q. Is that Alex Campos?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. Did Alex Campos also reside with you at the

21 9201 address?

22 A. No.

23 Q. And how long has Michelle and Alex been

24 married?

25 A. About five years.

Page 19

1 Q. And how -- is Michelle's daughter -- strike

2 that.

3 Is Alex the father of Michelle's daughter?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Okay. And how old is her daughter?

6 A. She's 6.

7 Q. While you were employed at Kiki's, what

8 positions did you work in?

9 A. I worked as a server, captain, some --

10 sommelier.

11 Q. Any other positions while you worked at

12 Kiki's?

13 A. No.

14 Q. And how long did you work as a server while

15 you worked at Kiki's?

16 A. About a year.

17 Q. And how long did you work as captain while

18 you were employed at Kiki's?

19 A. Three years.

20 Q. And how long did you work as a sommelier

21 while you worked at Kiki's?

22 A. About one year.

23 Q. And when did your employment at Kiki's

24 start?

25 A. August 2017.

Page 20

1 Q. Did you apply for your job at Kiki's?

2 A. Yes.

3 Q. And tell me about the application process

4 when you applied for your position at Kiki's?

5 A. I -- I walked in, gave them my resume, they

6 interviewed me, and then they gave me a start date.

7 Q. And how did you hear about the job at

8 Kiki's?

9 A. I saw a posting on Facebook.

10 Q. When you said you walked in and gave them

11 your resume, did you schedule the meeting?

12 A. No, I walked in. It was a walk-in.

13 Q. Okay. And when you walked in to Kiki's in

14 August of 2017, who did you meet with?

15 A. Spiro.

16 Q. And what's Spiro's last name?

17 MR. POLLOCK: If you remember.

18 A. I don't know his last name. They have long

19 last names. It's Greek.

20 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

21 Q. And how long did you meet with Spiro?

22 A. Like, maybe 30 minutes.

23 Q. Did you meet with anybody during that

24 interview with Spiro, anybody else other than Spiro?

25 A. Ciro Costanzo. Costanzo.

Page 21

1 Q. Can you spell that for me?

2 A. His last name?

3 Q. The first name also.

4 A. C-I-R-O and C-O-N-S-T-A-N-Z-O [sic]. I

5 think.

6 Q. Okay. And did you meet with Spiro and

7 Costanzo simultaneously?

8 A. I saw Ciro first, he spoke to me, and then

9 he introduced me to Spiro, which is . . .

10 Q. I'm sorry, you met with Spiro first and

11 then he --

12 A. No, the other way around.

13 Q. Okay.

14 A. So it was, like, I walked in, he was the

15 manager on the floor, he spoke to me for a little bit

16 and then he introduced me to -- and then I was worthy

17 of speaking to Spiros.

18 Q. How long did you speak to Ciro before you

19 were introduced to Spiro?

20 A. Maybe ten minutes.

21 Q. And then you were with Spiro for

22 30 minutes?

23 A. Yeah.

24 Q. Did you meet with anybody else during this

25 interview process?

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1 A. No.

2 Q. And when were you offered a job at Kiki's?

3 A. Like a week later.

4 Q. From the time that you met with Ciro and

5 Spiro, to the time that the job was offered to you,

6 did you meet with anybody at Kiki's?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Did you speak to anybody else at Kiki's?

9 A. No.

10 Q. And who communicated with you to offer you

11 the job?

12 A. I saw the posting on Facebook.

13 Q. Who communicated with you to tell you that

14 you were successful on your job application?

15 A. Oh, Ciro.

16 Q. Ciro.

17 And what position did you apply for?

18 A. Captain.

19 Q. Other than Ciro and Spiro, do you know who

20 else was involved in your hiring?

21 A. No.

22 Q. And you testified that you started as a

23 captain; is that correct?

24 A. I was hired for captain, but you always

25 start as a server.

Page 23

1 Q. Okay. And how long did you work as a

2 server?

3 A. About a year.

4 Q. Got you. What are the duties of a captain

5 at Kiki's?

6 A. Captain, basically details station, the

7 first duties, you detail your station, see if there's

8 any special instructions, like, large parties or

9 anything for that particular station. If there are,

10 you set it up.

11 And then you go to pre-shift, you get

12 instructed by the chef if there's any specials,

13 anything that they want us to push. And then

14 basically you greet your guests. When they are

15 seated, tell them the specials, take their drink

16 orders, take the orders, put them in the POS, the

17 table maintenance. And schmooze. That means make

18 them feel comfortable, make them feel happy. The

19 evening is more, like, kind of, party atmosphere, so

20 you want to make them have a good time.

21 Q. When did your employment come to an end at

22 Kiki's?

23 A. In January of 2022.

24 Q. And why did your employment at Kiki's come

25 to an end?

Page 24

1 A. There was a situation where there was a

2 table that was being comped, but I had to charge for

3 a bottle of wine, and I missed that. The manager on

4 duty never told me that detail, so it was my fault.

5 So I didn't charge for the bottle, so I ended up

6 paying out of pocket to cover the cost.

7 Q. So if I'm understanding correctly, your

8 employment at Kiki's came to an end because you

9 gave --

10 A. Because I had -- because I was -- at

11 that -- at that time, I missed the -- to charge an

12 item on the check.

13 Q. And what was it that you failed to charge

14 the customer on the check?

15 A. A bottle of wine.

16 Q. And what was the value of the bottle of

17 wine?

18 A. It was like $200.

19 Q. Prior to that incident, did you ever have

20 any situations where you failed to charge a customer

21 for an item that they had ordered?

22 A. No.

23 Q. And who terminated your employment at

24 Kiki's?

25 A. The HR director.

Page 25

1 Q. Do you remember the HR director's name?

2 A. Isabella.

3 Q. Is Isabella's last name Isabella Rondon?

4 A. Yes, sir.

5 Q. Who else was involved in the termination of

6 your employment in January of 2022?

7 A. To my knowledge, no one else.

8 Q. And when Ms. Rondon terminated your

9 employment, what did she tell you?

10 A. I don't recall exactly words, but basically

11 it was I don't work there anymore.

12 Q. Did Ms. Rondon tell you anything about who

13 was involved in the decision to terminate your

14 employment?

15 A. No.

16 Q. As part of the duties of a captain, do they

17 take orders from customers?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. And when a captain takes an order from a

20 customer, what do they do?

21 A. You -- before taking the order, you offer

22 the specials, you make suggestions to cocktails and

23 so forth, and then you take the order.

24 Q. Okay. And when you take the order from the

25 customer, what's the next step of a captain?

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1 A. You write it down, walk over to the POS

2 system, put it in the system, punch it in. If

3 there's any drinks, the server will pick them up at

4 the bar. If the server is busy, you go grab them

5 yourself. If it's any wine or -- any wine or

6 bottles, you pick them up yourself.

7 Q. Other than the POS system -- and the POS,

8 is that also known as a point-of-sale system?

9 A. Yes, sir.

10 Q. Okay. Other than the POS system, is there

11 any other system where orders are imported at Kiki's?

12 A. You have some hand-held devices that you

13 would use when you're working outside.

14 Q. And the information that you would put into

15 the hand-held device, would that go into Kiki's POS

16 system?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Okay. Other than the direct POS system and

19 the hand-held device, was there any other mechanism

20 or device that you used to place orders for

21 customers?

22 A. No.

23 Q. And, again, the hand-held device was linked

24 to the POS system?

25 A. Yes.

Page 27

1 Q. Okay.

2 A. It's under the same cloud, I guess.

3 Q. Other than captain, is there any other

4 positions at Kiki's that input customer orders into

5 the POS?

6 A. Bartenders. A server will sometimes place

7 orders if you're busy. Managers jump in there if

8 you're super busy. They will ring in a dessert or

9 whatever.

10 Q. Mm-hmm. And how does Kiki's POS system

11 work?

12 A. Well, you use your -- you have a -- a

13 number assigned to you. So, usually, the last four

14 digits of your social or the last four numbers of

15 your phone, and you use that to open up the system,

16 and then you log into your number and then you open

17 the user table number, open up the table, and then

18 you put in your sale.

19 Q. And when a captain logs in with their

20 assigned four-digit number, does anybody else have

21 access to that ticket when the captain is working a

22 table?

23 A. If they have your number, yes. The

24 managers always have access to you because they have

25 special -- they have a card, they swipe it and they

Page 28

1 can access anybody's check.

2 Q. What other information, other than an

3 order, would a captain input into the POS?

4 A. If it's for -- if it's like a special

5 guest, you can put in their name --

6 Q. Mm-hmm.

7 A. -- on the check. If it's a VIP, you can

8 put that on the check also. Special instructions,

9 you can add "more garlic" or "allergies" and so

10 forth. You can type them in. Those are the type of

11 instructions you can -- you know. Or hold. And you

12 can also hold an order for fire, so if people don't

13 want to be rushed, you can hold the order, like, main

14 courses after the appetizer until the captain

15 instructs the kitchen to serve it.

16 Q. Mm-hmm.

17 A. So you can type in special instructions.

18 Q. Okay. Do captains receive payments from

19 customers?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. And did they do so while you were employed

22 there?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Do you know if captains still receive

25 payments from customers today or after your

Page 29

1 employment ended?

2 A. I believe they do, yes.

3 Q. And how do you know that captains still

4 accept payments after your employment ended with

5 Kiki's?

6 A. Because -- well, I'm going to go back to

7 the first question. There was a moment, on Sunday,

8 we would have, like, a cashier for, like, a small

9 period of time, but those -- because we had a -- we

10 had a cashier on Sundays for a little bit because it

11 was very overwhelming to help, you know, but that was

12 the only time we had a cashier that I know of.

13 Q. And how long did Kiki have a cashier on

14 Sundays?

15 A. I don't know, maybe a few months, maybe.

16 It didn't work out.

17 Q. Do you remember what year that was when you

18 started your employment in 2017?

19 A. I don't recall. It was, like, late -- in

20 the later years. I don't recall exactly the -- let

21 me see if I can recall. I know we had a cashier on

22 Sundays for a little bit, but . . .

23 Q. And how long would you say?

24 A. I'd say six months, maybe.

25 Q. Six months.

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1 A. It was during the busy season.

2 Q. Has that been the only time that Kiki's had

3 a cashier for six months?

4 A. I believe so.

5 Q. And the cashier --

6 A. I mean, I don't recall exactly, but I think

7 that was the only time I remember.

8 Q. Okay. At least during your employment?

9 A. Yes.

10 MR. POLLOCK: Octavio, you're doing a good

11 job so far, but I would say wait for

12 Mr. Velazquez to finish his question.

13 THE WITNESS: Oh, my apologies.

14 MR. POLLOCK: It'll make for a cleaner

15 record. I know Mr. Velazquez is getting answers

16 to his questions, but I think if you just pause

17 for a second, it will smooth things out for the

18 record.

19 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

20 Q. Outside the six-month period on Sundays

21 where a cashier would take a payment -- well --

22 What -- when -- during the six-month

23 period that cashiers would process payments on

24 Sundays, what would the captain do in a scenario

25 like that?

Page 31

1 A. Well, if -- it was divided, so, like --

2 like, regular tables, the captains would take the

3 payments himself. On the large tables that were

4 paying, you know, bigger checks, I guess, and some of

5 them would pay in cash, so she would have a counting

6 machine, she would run the -- count the money and all

7 that stuff. But on the regular tables, you would

8 take the payment and then on larger parties paying

9 bigger checks, that would -- that's when you go to

10 her for that -- for that type of payment.

11 Q. And during the time that there was a

12 cashier working on Sundays for six months, did the

13 captain still input the order into the POS?

14 A. Yeah, you put the -- you input, you take

15 payments only on -- if the customer will give you,

16 like, a stack of hundreds and you -- you know,

17 obviously, you're not going to start counting. You

18 go to the cashier and you run it through the machine

19 and she'll make sure that it's all correct.

20 Q. Okay. So the only duties the cashier had

21 for this six-month period was essentially accepting

22 payment?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Okay. And the amount of the payment was

25 already finalized in the POS system based on the work

Page 32

1 that the captain did to input the information to

2 close the check?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. Okay. When a captain would take a payment

5 from a customer, what would a captain do?

6 A. If the check is over $1,000 --

7 Q. Mm-hmm.

8 A. -- you ask for ID, you go to the printer,

9 you take photocopy of the check, the person's ID,

10 because a lot of people dispute the charges that they

11 were never there or something.

12 Q. Mm-hmm.

13 A. So, basically, we'll go take photocopies of

14 the check, the credit card. This is for the

15 protection of Kiki On the River, that they make sure

16 that the guest was in the house, and then we'll run

17 the card.

18 Q. Okay. And when you run the card, would you

19 take the final check back to the customer?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. Okay. And when the customer would receive

22 that check, what would the customer do with that

23 check?

24 A. They'll -- they'll sign it and that's it,

25 finalize the payment.

Page 33

1 Q. Okay. And in finalizing the payment, would

2 that include inserting, if the customer wanted, an

3 optional tip?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Okay. And do you understand what a tip is?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. Tell me what a tip is.

8 A. A tip is when you get rewarded for your

9 service.

10 Q. Okay. And who rewards you for -- or who

11 would reward a captain for their service in giving a

12 tip?

13 A. In the tip? In -- in a tipping situation?

14 Q. Yes.

15 A. Well, the -- on -- Kiki On the River, the

16 service charge is included.

17 Q. I'm not talking about service charge, I'm

18 talking about tip.

19 A. Okay. So the tip, it goes on the check,

20 and then that's it.

21 Q. Okay. And who -- and who puts the -- who

22 decides how much tip to give?

23 A. Well, the guest is the one tipping. They

24 put whatever they want.

25 Q. Okay. So the guest decides how much to

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1 tip?

2 A. Yeah.

3 Q. Or if they're going to tip at all?

4 A. Right.

5 Q. Okay.

6 A. It's optional.

7 Q. Okay. In the -- take a look at what we've

8 marked as Exhibit 1.

9 Look at Paragraph 2 on Page 1. On Count 1

10 it says, quote: "A proposed opt-in collective

11 action under 29 U.S.C. 216(b) for the recovery of

12 tips/overtips."

13 Is there a difference between tips and

14 overtips?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Okay. So during the course of this

17 deposition, when I refer to "tips," you understand

18 that to mean that it is --

19 A. Overtip.

20 Q. An overtip. That's money that the customer

21 gave or left for the server and the captain or

22 anybody else that provided service.

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Okay. So if I'm understanding you

25 correctly, there really is no difference between a

Page 35

1 tip and an overtip?

2 A. Depending on how it's structured.

3 Q. Is an overtip an amount that a customer

4 decides to leave the server or the captain?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Is a tip an amount that the customer

7 decides to leave the server or the captain?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. Okay. Once the captain receives the

10 completed check from a customer that includes a tip,

11 what does the captain do with that information?

12 A. You input it into the system. May I use an

13 example? Or is this just yes and no?

14 MR. POLLOCK: Go ahead.

15 A. So if the guest leaves an additional $20,

16 you just go to the system, you input because it

17 already has a service charge included, so anything

18 over the service charge, you input it into the system

19 and finalize the sale.

20 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

21 Q. And when you say input it into the system,

22 you mean input the tip amount that the customer left

23 into the POS?

24 A. Correct.

25 Q. And when a captain, in this example since

Page 36

1 we're talking about captain's duties, inputs a tip

2 amount into the POS, is that a credit card tip that's

3 left on the receipt?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Okay. And once a captain inputs the tip

6 amount into the POS, how does Kiki process that

7 credit card tip into the system?

8 A. At the end of the night when you run your

9 report, you see all your service charges, you'll see

10 your additional tips on the -- on the report and your

11 total sales.

12 Q. So at the end of the night, you get a

13 printout that shows the service charges that Kiki

14 imposed, the tips, the credit card tips that the

15 customer left for the captain, and the sales. Did I

16 get that right?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. And as it relates to the tips that are left

19 on a credit card, once that is inputted into the POS,

20 tell us how Kiki processes that tip internally?

21 A. Well, at the end of the night when you turn

22 in whatever -- if you owe any cash to the house, so

23 whenever you have any cash sales, you would count it

24 out, it would be on the report as well. You put it

25 in the envelope, somebody counts the cash, makes sure

Page 37

1 it's correct. You will write out on an envelope, you

2 will put the sales, your tips and overtips on the

3 envelope and then that goes to the office.

4 Q. Okay. And once that document gets to the

5 office that reflects the tips that the captain

6 received, what happens with that?

7 A. I don't know.

8 Q. Pardon me?

9 A. I guess they collect it all from everyone

10 and then they distribute as -- with their system.

11 Q. So you prefaced your answer with your

12 guess. Let me ask you this: Do you know how Kiki

13 processes credit card tips once it is given to the

14 house?

15 A. Exactly, I do not know the math, but I'm

16 going to make an assumption here. I do not know.

17 Q. Okay.

18 A. But I'm going to make an assumption of how

19 it would go. Go to the office, they'll --

20 Q. I don't want an assumption.

21 A. Okay.

22 Q. The answer to your question is that -- to

23 the questions that you don't know how Kiki processes

24 credit card tips once it gets to the house, correct?

25 A. Correct.

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1 Q. Okay. So we're just talking about credit

2 card tips. Do captains ever receive cash tips?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. Okay. And what would a captain do with

5 cash tips that they receive?

6 A. If you get a cash tip, the right thing to

7 do is to share it with your team. You give your

8 server and your busser part of that cash tip.

9 Q. So that would be left to the honesty of the

10 captain to share with their team?

11 A. Right, integrity. It's like an integrity

12 thing.

13 Q. So when a captain receives a cash tip that

14 isn't inputted into Kiki's POS --

15 A. There's -- there's -- if I recall

16 correctly, I think we had to write down the -- what

17 cash we received.

18 Q. Okay. But were cash tips inputted into the

19 POS by a captain?

20 A. No, that's already -- the tips, no.

21 Q. No, no. Were cash tips inputted into the

22 POS system?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Okay. So if a captain received a cash tip,

25 it would be up to his discretion to disseminate it

Page 39

1 how he sees fit with his team?

2 A. Right. And you're supposed to -- on the

3 report, we write how much we gave to -- how you break

4 it -- you know, if you had a hundred dollars, I gave

5 $40 to my server and $10 to my busser. So you would

6 actually invoice it or inventory it, the cash.

7 Q. I was about to be guilty of speaking over

8 you, I apologize.

9 So the -- so at the end of the night, the

10 captain would write how he shared the cash tips that

11 he received?

12 A. Yeah, supposed to -- supposed to.

13 Q. Okay. So if I'm understanding you

14 correctly, the cash tips were entirely handled and

15 distributed by captains, correct?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. Okay. And I think you mentioned servers.

18 Who would a captain share their cash tips with in

19 their team?

20 A. The overtips, cash, would be distributed to

21 the server and busser and sometimes you would give

22 something to the polisher in the back. Those guys

23 work hard.

24 Q. Okay. So you mentioned overtip. I want to

25 make sure we have a clear record. When I say "tip,"

Page 40

1 you say "overtip," we're talking the same thing,

2 correct?

3 A. Okay.

4 Q. Is that correct?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Okay. And, again, a tip or an overtip for

7 purposes of this deposition is a discretionary amount

8 that a customer leaves to the captain, correct?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. Okay.

11 MR. POLLOCK: Octavio, just to clarify,

12 overtip, you're saying is an amount that's left

13 above the service charge?

14 MR. REISS: Why is he interpreting the

15 deposition?

16 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Brian, don't instruct the

17 witness.

18 MR. REISS: You can cross-examine him

19 later, not in the middle of direct.

20 MR. POLLOCK: Okay.

21 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

22 Q. Okay. So I believe you said that the

23 captain shares their cash tips with server, busser

24 and who else was that?

25 A. And sometimes the polisher.

Page 41

1 Q. The polisher?

2 A. Yeah.

3 Q. Okay. And what does the polisher do?

4 A. They make sure that you have your tools to

5 work, which is silverware, plates, glasses, all

6 polished and clean.

7 Q. You, as a captain, did you ever give any of

8 your cash tips to anyone at Kiki's that was

9 prohibited from receiving cash tips?

10 MR. POLLOCK: Object to the form.

11 Go ahead.

12 A. No.

13 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

14 Q. Okay. Are you aware of captains giving any

15 amount of their cash tips to anyone employed or

16 associated with Kiki's that is prohibited from

17 receiving tips?

18 MR. POLLOCK: Objection, form.

19 MR. VELAZQUEZ: You can answer.

20 A. Not, no.

21 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

22 Q. Okay. Have captains given any amount of

23 their cash tips to any owner of Kiki On the River?

24 A. No, not to my knowledge.

25 Q. Okay. Have captains given any amount of

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1 their cash tips to Roman Jones?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Have captains given any amount of their

4 cash tips to Sia Hemmati?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Have captains given any amount of their

7 cash tips to any manager at Kiki On the River?

8 A. Not to my knowledge.

9 Q. What are the duties of a server?

10 A. The server is -- like, he's, like, another

11 captain, but on the table, there could only be one

12 point person. So, he's like the -- he's like your

13 right hand.

14 Q. Would a server do some of the same duties

15 as a captain would do?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. And what would those duties be?

18 A. Greet the guests, offer them water while

19 the captain has time to come back to the table and,

20 you know, take a drink order. They could take

21 another round of drinks if they wish to have more

22 drinks, they could take the order, so they can input

23 beverages, yes.

24 Q. So servers can input beverages into the

25 POS?

Page 43

1 A. Yes, and appetizers as well.

2 Q. Okay. Can servers actually input a meal

3 into the POS?

4 A. Yes, they can. Okay. They have the --

5 they're all captains, but they are categorized as

6 servers because there can't be two captains at one

7 place.

8 Q. Okay.

9 A. On one ship.

10 Q. So if a server has, I'm assuming -- well,

11 let me not assume.

12 When a server takes an order from a

13 customer, tell me what they do.

14 A. They just -- they inform the captain, I

15 already took their order or I'm putting in another

16 round of drinks. I say, "Go right ahead, put them

17 in."

18 Q. Okay. Do servers close customer checks?

19 A. Yes, they do.

20 Q. And can a server take a payment from a

21 customer?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. And when a server receives a payment from a

24 customer, what do they do?

25 A. They bring the payment to the captain. The

Page 44

1 captain handles it from there if . . .

2 Q. So servers do not input the final

3 information into the POS?

4 A. No, sir.

5 Q. Okay. So when you were describing the

6 duties of a captain, you described how a captain will

7 close out the check and bring it to the customer and

8 that has --

9 A. Itemized and --

10 Q. Itemized listing of all the orders and

11 everything that was transacted that evening?

12 A. Correct.

13 Q. Okay. Will a server do that, bring the

14 check to a customer?

15 A. If instructed.

16 Q. Okay. And if instructed, will a server

17 process the information that the customer puts on the

18 check into the POS?

19 A. Can you rephrase that question again?

20 Q. Sure. Are servers permitted once they

21 receive a completed receipt from a customer to input

22 the information into the POS?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Okay.

25 A. A server cannot close a check, a captain

Page 45

1 closes checks.

2 Q. And the testimony you previously provided

3 in relation to how a captain closes a check would

4 apply to a scenario when a server would bring them a

5 check to close as well?

6 A. Well, processing and closing are two

7 different things. Processing is taking the card and

8 swiping it and bringing it to the table. Closing it,

9 after the fact of the customer signing and, you know,

10 if you're going to add anything he can, but after

11 it's signed, that signed copy will go back to the

12 captain. And the captain has to -- when he gets time

13 or at the end of the night, he'll finalize the sale.

14 Q. Okay. And your testimony as it relates to

15 how a captain closes a check when it goes through

16 them is the same as it relates to when a server gives

17 the captain a check to close?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. So the duties are the same whether the

20 captain does it on their own or whether the captain

21 receives the check from the server?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. Okay. And when a server processes a check

24 and gives it to the captain to close the check, your

25 testimony as it relates to what happens after the

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1 check is closed pertaining to captains is the same

2 here when it relates to a server?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. Okay. To be clear, because I'm going to go

5 through a series of positions with you, irrespective

6 of the position, once the captain closes the check

7 and it goes for processing in the back of the house,

8 you don't know what happens in the back of the house

9 with the processing of that tip; is that correct?

10 A. Right.

11 Q. Okay. Do servers receive cash tips from

12 customers?

13 A. I mean, sometimes.

14 Q. You as a server, did you ever receive a

15 cash tip from a customer?

16 A. Yeah, like, handshake, 20 bucks, here's $5,

17 you know, depends.

18 Q. And when the server would receive a cash

19 tip from a customer, would the server input that cash

20 tip into the POS?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Would servers share their cash tips?

23 A. Usually, the server does not. If they are

24 doing a good be job, they say to keep it. You know,

25 unless it's a hundred dollars.

Page 47

1 Q. If it is a hundred-dollar cash tip the

2 server receives, what does he do with that?

3 A. Gives him half.

4 Q. Gives half to who?

5 A. To the captain.

6 Q. Okay. Have servers ever given any amount

7 of their cash tips to anyone employed or associated

8 with Kiki that is prohibited from receiving tips?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Have servers ever given any amount of cash

11 tips to any owner of Kiki On the River?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Have servers given any amount of their cash

14 tips to Roman Jones?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Have servers given any amount of their cash

17 tips to Sia Hemmati?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Have servers given any of their cash tips

20 to any managers?

21 A. No.

22 Q. I know you didn't work as a bartender, but

23 tell me what your understanding is of the duties of a

24 bartender?

25 A. Bartenders is to keep the flow of drinks

Page 48

1 coming out expedi- -- they expedite the flow of

2 drinks so we can bring it to the table fast.

3 Q. And do bartenders also prepare drinks?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. And do bartenders prepare drinks for the

6 table?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. And do bartenders prepare drinks for guests

9 that are at the bar?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. And in preparing drinks, do bartenders take

12 orders from customers?

13 A. From bar customers.

14 Q. Okay. And what other orders would a

15 bartender take?

16 A. That's it. Bar -- bar customers.

17 Q. Okay. Does Kiki's bartender serve or

18 prepare drinks for guests that are at the table?

19 A. Yes. Only after the captain has put in the

20 drinks in the system.

21 Q. Okay. So the captain will input a drink

22 order taken from the table into the POS and then that

23 will show up in the bartender's system?

24 A. No, he will get a printout, and then he'll

25 start making the drinks.

Page 49

1 Q. Okay. So if we're understanding correctly,

2 there's two types of orders a bartender takes, the

3 order that they take from a guest that's at the bar?

4 A. Right, from seating customers at the bar or

5 standing customers and then they'll also make the

6 drinks for the captains and tables.

7 Q. Okay. And do bartenders input the customer

8 order into the POS at Kiki On the River?

9 A. For the bar customers?

10 Q. Mm-hmm.

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. Okay. And it's the captain that inputs the

13 drink order into the POS for any orders taken at the

14 table?

15 A. At the table, yes.

16 Q. Okay. And what do bartenders do -- well,

17 strike that.

18 Any drink orders from tables that are

19 inputted into the POS by captains are also closed

20 out on the captain side of the sale?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Okay. So the only checks that a bartender

23 will close are the ones from the guests that are at

24 the bar ordering directly from the bartender?

25 A. That's correct.

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1 Q. Okay. And when the bartender is ready to

2 close a check, what would a bartender do?

3 A. It's basically the same procedure, present

4 the check, take payment, you know, credit card or

5 cash, close it -- if there's any cash, check, they

6 will close the check, put the money in the register.

7 If it's credit card, they will swipe the card, the

8 signature and the same thing.

9 Q. When you say "the same procedure," do you

10 mean the same procedure that a captain would utilize

11 to process and close the check?

12 A. There's only one system to close the check.

13 So it's the same at the table, the same at the bar.

14 Q. Okay. And the same system is the POS?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Okay.

17 A. The only difference is that we don't have a

18 register, so we hold the cash until the end of the

19 night, then we turn it in. The -- the bartender has

20 a register in front of him, so he puts the money in

21 the register.

22 Q. Okay. And when you say the only difference

23 and you say that we hold the cash is that the

24 captains that hold the cash?

25 A. Yes.

Page 51

1 Q. Okay. Servers do not hold cash?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Okay.

4 A. They don't hold no cash.

5 Q. And when a bartender is -- receives a

6 finalized check from a customer, they input the tip

7 amount into the POS system as well?

8 A. Repeat that.

9 Q. Sure. Well, let me ask you this: When the

10 customer finishes their drink order and they're ready

11 to leave, what would a bartender do?

12 A. Present the check and take payment.

13 Q. Okay. And when they take the payment, do

14 they input the credit card tip into the POS?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Okay. And once the credit card tip is

17 inputted into the POS, does the bartender know how

18 it's processed in the back of the house for purposes

19 of distributing it to tipped employees?

20 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

21 A. I don't know. I don't have that

22 information. I don't know.

23 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

24 Q. You don't know?

25 A. No.

Page 52

1 Q. Okay. Do bartenders receive cash tips?

2 A. Yes.

3 Q. Do bartenders input cash tips into the POS?

4 A. I don't know.

5 Q. Pardon me?

6 A. I don't know.

7 Q. Do bartenders share their cash tips?

8 A. With the other bartenders, yes.

9 Q. Would bartenders share their cash tips with

10 barbacks?

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. Any other positions that you're aware of

13 that bartenders share their cash tips with?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Have bartenders given any amount of their

16 cash tips with anyone employed or associated with

17 Kiki's that is prohibited from receiving tips?

18 A. Well, I'm not a bartender, but, yeah, I'm

19 not familiar with the bartender tipping system

20 because I'm not a bartender. I wasn't a bartender.

21 Q. So the answer to the question is: You

22 don't know?

23 A. I don't know.

24 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Let's take a break.

25 (Recess was held from 10:33 a.m. until 10:51 a.m.)

Page 53

1 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read back the last

2 question and answer, Madam Court Reporter?

3 THE COURT REPORTER: Yes.

4 (Requested portion read back.)

5 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

6 Q. Do you have any knowledge that bartenders

7 have shared their cash tips with anyone employed or

8 associated with Kiki On the River that's prohibited

9 from receiving tips?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Okay. Do you have any knowledge whether

12 bartenders have given any amount of their cash tips

13 to any owner of Kiki On the River?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts

16 pertaining to bartenders giving cash tips to owners

17 of Kiki On the River?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts of

20 bartenders giving cash tips to Roman Jones?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts of

23 bartenders giving cash to Kiki's managers?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Just to get the record straight, do you

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Page 54

1 have any knowledge of facts that bartenders have

2 given any cash to anybody employed -- anyone employed

3 or associated with Kiki On the River that is

4 prohibited from receiving tips?

5 A. Can you repeat that, please?

6 Q. Sure.

7 Do you have any knowledge of facts of

8 bartenders sharing cash tips with anyone employed or

9 associated with Kiki On the River that is prohibited

10 from receiving tips?

11 A. No, not that I know of.

12 Q. Okay. What are the duties of a bottle

13 server?

14 A. Bottle server?

15 Q. Mm-hmm.

16 A. We don't have bottle servers.

17 Q. It may also be known as a bottle girl?

18 A. Oh, bottle girl?

19 Q. Yeah.

20 MR. HEMMATI: Same thing.

21 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

22 Q. What are the duties of a bottle girl?

23 A. Oh, bottle girl come out with sparklers and

24 the shields, like the -- you order Dom P, they come

25 out with the Dom Perignon shields and they, kind of,

Page 55

1 make a nice atmosphere for the guests who love the

2 Instagram and Facebook and -- show. We call it "the

3 show." For the show. They become part of the

4 serving show, you can say.

5 Q. And do bottle girls serve bottles?

6 A. They just serve. They don't sell anything,

7 but they serve, yes.

8 Q. Okay. When you say they don't sell

9 anything, they don't put anything -- strike that.

10 Do bottle servers -- for the record, when

11 I say "bottle servers," I'm referring to bottle

12 girls, okay?

13 A. All right.

14 Q. Do bottle servers input anything into the

15 POS?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do bottle servers take orders from

18 customers?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Do bottle servers input anything into the

21 POS?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Do bottle servers have a number to access

24 the POS?

25 A. No.

Page 56

1 Q. Do bottle servers have any involvement when

2 a customer is going to close a check?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do bottle servers have any involvement when

5 a captain or server is closing a check?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do bottle servers take payments from

8 customers?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do bottle servers input credit card tips

11 into the POS?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do bottle servers receive cash tips?

14 A. Maybe, I don't know.

15 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

16 bottle servers accept or take cash tips from

17 customers?

18 A. No.

19 Q. If a bottle server does receive a cash tip,

20 does she share those cash tips?

21 A. I don't know. I don't know.

22 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that a

23 bottle server would share cash tips?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Do you have any knowledge of bottle servers

Page 57

1 sharing cash tips with anyone employed or associated

2 with Kiki On the River that is prohibited from

3 receiving tips?

4 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

5 A. No -- excuse me, sir. Can we say "bottle

6 girls" because they're not servers. They don't serve

7 anything. They just bring the bottles to the table.

8 Server is somebody who actually serves something.

9 Bottle girls is just -- they do a show and they bring

10 the bottles with the captain to the table. They

11 don't serve anything.

12 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

13 Q. Okay. Do -- does Kiki have a position

14 that's titled "bottle server"?

15 A. Actually, they're hostesses who are bottle

16 girls. When we order bottles, they'll come with us

17 to the table, do the CO2, the smoke, and they bring

18 the sparklers and things to the table, then we take

19 it over from there.

20 Q. And the bottle girls are what bring the

21 sparklers and the CO2?

22 A. Yeah, the bottle girls.

23 Q. Okay. Back to my original question: Does

24 Kiki have any positions that are titled

25 "bottle server"?

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Page 58

1 A. Not that I know of, no.

2 Q. Okay.

3 A. Can I add something to that?

4 Q. Sure.

5 A. Because a bottle server would be somebody

6 who takes an order, inputs it and serves a bottle,

7 but they're not servers, they're bottle girls that

8 deliver, help you deliver the bottles that you sold

9 to the table, that's what they do. "Bottle Girls."

10 Q. And during your employment at Kiki, did

11 Kiki On the River have any bottle server positions?

12 A. No.

13 Q. After your employment at Kiki's, are you

14 aware whether they have any bottle server positions?

15 A. No, I don't know. I wouldn't know. I

16 doubt it, but I don't know.

17 Q. So we can call them bottle girl. I'm okay

18 with that.

19 A. Okay.

20 MR. REISS: Bottle person, sorry.

21 THE WITNESS: We can say they or them,

22 you're right.

23 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

24 Q. Let's just go with what they're called. At

25 Kiki they're called "bottle girls"?

Page 59

1 A. Bottle girls, yes.

2 Q. Okay. Do you have any knowledge of facts

3 that bottle girls have shared any cash tips with an

4 owner of Kiki On the River?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts of

7 bottle girls sharing cash tips with anyone employed

8 or associated with Kiki that is prohibited from

9 receiving tips?

10 A. No. No, sir.

11 Q. I know. You're starting to hear them over

12 and over again. Just let me finish the question. Do

13 you have any knowledge of facts that bottle girls

14 have given cash tips to Roman Jones?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

17 bottle girls have given cash tips to Sia Hemmati?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

20 bottle servers have given any amount of their cash

21 tips to Kiki On the River managers?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Do bottle girls -- do you have any

24 knowledge of facts that bottle girls know how Kiki On

25 the River processes tips in the back of the house for

Page 60

1 purposes -- strike that.

2 A. No.

3 Q. Strike that.

4 A. No.

5 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

6 bottle girls know how Kiki On the River processes

7 credit card tips in the back of the house to

8 distribute to tipped employees?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Okay. What are the duties of a busser?

11 A. Busser? They -- they -- they get ice, they

12 re-set the tables, they clear the tables, they keep

13 your work area clean. If you need -- if they are

14 having regular water, they maintain water service on

15 the table.

16 Q. Do bussers take orders from customers?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Do bussers input orders into the POS at

19 Kiki On the River?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do bussers have a number to access the POS?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Do bussers have any involvement in the

24 closing of a customer check?

25 A. No.

Page 61

1 Q. Do bussers have any involvement in the

2 processing of a customer check?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do bussers take payments from customers at

5 Kiki?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do bussers input credit card tips into the

8 POS?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do bussers -- do you have any knowledge of

11 facts that bussers know how Kiki processes credit

12 card tips in the back of the house for purposes of

13 distributing to tipped employees?

14 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

15 A. No.

16 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

17 Q. Do bussers receive cash tips?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. Do bussers input their cash tips into the

20 POS?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Do bussers share their cash tips?

23 A. I wouldn't know.

24 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

25 bussers share their cash tips?

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Page 62

1 A. No.

2 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

3 bussers have given any amount of their cash tips to

4 anyone employed or associated with Kiki On the River

5 that is prohibited from receiving tips?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

8 bussers have given any amount of their cash tips to

9 any owner of Kiki On the River?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

12 bussers have given any amount of their cash tips to

13 Roman Jones?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

16 bussers have given cash tips to Sia Hemmati?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

19 bussers have given cash tips to managers at Kiki On

20 the River?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Do customers receive cash tips directly --

23 strike that.

24 Do bussers receive cash tips directly from

25 customers?

Page 63

1 A. It could happen. I mean, yes.

2 Q. And what other way would a busser receive a

3 cash tip?

4 A. A scenario?

5 Q. Yeah.

6 A. So I'm a smoker, and I'm -- and I'm -- and

7 the busser is on top of my ashtray, changing my

8 ashtray. I might give him a tip because this guy is

9 on top of my ashtray service.

10 Q. Okay.

11 A. If I'm thirsty and I'm drinking a lot of

12 water and this kid keeps refilling my water, the

13 captain is busy over there talking to some other

14 table. I'll say, this kid is all right. I'll give

15 him a little extra, you know, a little handshake on

16 the way out. So, yeah, they can get cash tips.

17 Q. So bussers typically receive cash tips

18 directly from the customers?

19 A. They may, not all the time. But, you know,

20 some people, you know, you give good service, you get

21 taken care of.

22 Q. And the cash tip would come directly from

23 the customer to the busser?

24 A. Yes, unless they give it to the captain and

25 the captain will, you know, bump him off at the end,

Page 64

1 but sometimes they do get a little handshake.

2 Q. Okay.

3 A. And just --

4 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

5 bartenders have given cash tips to Sia Hemmati?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Is a host and a hostess the same position

8 at Kiki?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. Okay. So I'm just going to refer to them

11 as host. What are the duties of a host at Kiki's?

12 A. I guess greet the guest when they arrive,

13 check if they have reservations, have -- well,

14 there's a host, which would be the main host --

15 hostess, and then there would be the other hostess

16 which walk to the table. So the main host would

17 greet and check the reservation and then send one of

18 the other hostess to walk them over to the table.

19 Q. Okay.

20 A. And if there's a special event, they'll

21 print out a little piece of paper which lets the

22 captain know that there's a birthday or anniversary

23 or special event at the table.

24 Q. Okay. So we're using it interchangeably.

25 But so the record is clear, whether you say "host" or

Page 65

1 you say "hostess," you're talking about the same

2 position?

3 A. It's the same, yeah, the same position.

4 Q. Okay. Do hosts take orders from customers?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do hosts input customer orders into the POS

7 at Kiki On the River?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Do hosts have a number to access the POS?

10 A. No. Go back. They have a number to clock

11 in, that's it.

12 Q. Okay. But is clocking in different than

13 accessing the POS?

14 A. It depends on the position. If you're a

15 host, you don't do sales, so you don't need to access

16 anything.

17 Q. Okay. So the host would have a number to

18 clock in and out for the day?

19 A. Right.

20 Q. Okay. Do hosts have any involvement when a

21 customer is going to close a check?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Do hosts take payments from customers at

24 Kiki?

25 A. No, no, sir.

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Page 66

1 Q. Do hosts input tip amounts into the POS

2 when they're left on a credit card?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

5 hosts know how Kiki processes credit card tips from

6 the back of the house to distribute to tipped

7 employees?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Do hosts receive cash tips?

10 A. No -- well, well, most likely yes.

11 Q. Do you know for certain if hosts receive

12 cash tips?

13 A. Yes.

14 Q. Do hosts input the cash tips into the POS?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Do the hosts share their cash tips?

17 A. Among themselves, yes.

18 Q. And what positions would a host share their

19 cash tips with at Kiki?

20 A. With other hostesses.

21 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that a

22 host has given any amount of their cash tips to

23 anyone employed or associated with Kiki that is

24 prohibited from receiving tips?

25 A. No.

Page 67

1 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

2 hosts have given any amount of their cash tips to any

3 owner of Kiki On the River?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

6 hosts have given any amount of their cash tips to

7 Roman Jones?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

10 hosts have given any amount of their cash tips to

11 Sia Hemmati?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

14 hosts have given their cash tips to a manager at

15 Kiki On the River?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Tell me the duties of a dockmaster.

18 A. Dockmaster, if you arrive on your boat, he

19 will tie up the boat, he'll -- it will -- he'll see

20 how -- Kiki On the River charges $5 per foot on

21 certain -- $3 on the weekdays, $5 on the weekend for

22 parking your boat. And then we'll tell the captain,

23 "Well, you have a 40-footer, charge $120." If it's a

24 weekday. It's $5 on the weekend. I don't know if it

25 went up, but that was the rate.

Page 68

1 So he'll do -- the captain will know how

2 big the boat is, charge it, make sure you charge the

3 docking fee. It's called the docking fee, so that

4 was his job.

5 Q. Do dockmasters take orders from customers?

6 A. Sometimes they do, but the captain will

7 input the order. So they might have -- they might

8 park and want something to go, and they'll order,

9 "Give me two grilled octopus and two fries." And

10 he'll say they want this, and the captain will ring

11 it in.

12 Q. And when you say that captain will input an

13 order that's given to them by a dockmaster, does the

14 captain input that order into the POS?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Do dockmasters ever input orders into the

17 POS at Kiki?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Do dockmasters have a number to access

20 Kiki's POS?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Does Kiki rent a boat for customers -- or

23 strike that.

24 Does Kiki afford customers the ability to

25 rent a boat to dine?

Page 69

1 A. Kiki On the River, they do have a boat,

2 yes.

3 Q. And if there is a customer that is dining

4 on the boat, who serves the customer on that boat?

5 A. Captain -- captain and a server.

6 Q. So the dockmaster wouldn't have any

7 involvement with serving the customer on a boat?

8 A. No.

9 Q. And if a customer docks their private

10 boat --

11 A. Excuse me, let's go back to that first

12 question.

13 Q. Sure.

14 What question are you referring to?

15 A. The one about the dockmaster assisting and

16 serving. There have been instances that he has

17 helped, yes, but that's not his duties. He just does

18 that as an extra help to the house. The -- sometimes

19 he helps.

20 Q. And what type of help or assistance does he

21 provide and to whom does he provide it to?

22 A. Like clearing, like helping, like the

23 busboy. It's a busy place, so sometimes everybody

24 pitches in, take stuff out, dirty stuff off the boat

25 and put it in a bus bin.

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Page 70

1 Q. Okay. And when the dockmaster kicks in

2 like this, is he kicking in on private boats?

3 A. Yeah, on yachts.

4 Q. Okay. And when dockmasters help out like

5 this, does he also help out on Kiki's private boat?

6 A. I'm not sure. That was before me. When I

7 left, the boat wasn't functioning. It was parked

8 there, but it wasn't doing any services yet.

9 Q. Okay. Do dockmasters have any involvement

10 in closing a customer check?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Do dockmasters have any involvement in

13 processing a customer check?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do dockmasters take payments from customers

16 at Kiki?

17 A. If -- they would always -- like, if they

18 could present the check, they would bring it back to

19 the captain and the captain would do the payment

20 process.

21 Q. So in all instances when payment is

22 tendered on a boat, whether it's Kiki's boat or a

23 private boat, that check is handed to the captain for

24 purposes of inputting?

25 A. On the Kiki boat, I don't know because I

Page 71

1 assume that the Kiki boat is a private event space,

2 so that goes to a manager or the captain on duty at

3 that time on the boat, but I don't think the

4 dockmaster would be running payments on a big boat

5 like that.

6 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that --

7 that the handling of checks of customers on a boat

8 are handled any differently than they are handled for

9 customers at the restaurant?

10 A. No, the same.

11 Q. Okay. And forgive me if I asked you this,

12 but do dockmasters take payments from customers at

13 Kiki?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do dockmasters input tip amounts that they

16 receive from credit card tips?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

19 credit card tips that originate from a boat are

20 handled any differently from the back of the house

21 for purposes of distributing?

22 A. Repeat that, please.

23 Q. Sure. Do you have any knowledge of facts

24 that Kiki processes -- strike that.

25 Do you have any knowledge of facts that

Page 72

1 dockmasters know how Kiki processes credit card tips

2 to distribute to tipped employees?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do dockmasters receive cash tips?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Are the dockmasters cash tips inputted into

7 Kiki's POS?

8 A. No. They're called handshakes.

9 Q. Do dockmasters share their cash tips?

10 A. No. Oh, unless there's another dockmaster

11 on the dock. Sometimes there's two.

12 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

13 dockmasters have given any amount of their cash tips

14 to anyone employed or associated with Kiki On the

15 River that is prohibited from receiving tips?

16 A. Not that I know of, no.

17 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

18 dockmasters have given any amount of their cash tips

19 to an owner at Kiki On the River?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

22 dockmasters have given any amount of their cash tips

23 to Roman Jones?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

Page 73

1 dockmasters have given their cash tips to

2 Sia Hemmati?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

5 dockmasters have given any of their cash tips to

6 managers at Kiki On the River?

7 A. No.

8 Q. What are the duties of a food runner?

9 A. Food runner, once the food is ready, the

10 chef has prepared the food and is ready to go to the

11 table, the food runner brings it out from the kitchen

12 and serves it to the table, to the -- or brings it to

13 the table and the captain usually assists in serving

14 the food.

15 Q. Do food runners take orders from customers?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do food runners input customer orders into

18 Kiki's POS?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Do food runners have a number to access the

21 POS?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Do food runners have any involvement in the

24 closing of a customer check?

25 A. No.

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Page 74

1 Q. Do food runners have any duties in

2 processing a customer check?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do food runners take payments from

5 customers at Kiki?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do food runners input credit card tips into

8 Kiki's POS?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

11 food runners know about how Kiki processes credit

12 card tips to distribute to tipped employees?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Do food runners receive cash tips?

15 A. No. Oh, sorry. Only on Sundays.

16 Q. Pardon me?

17 A. Only on Sundays.

18 Q. Why do food runners only receive cash tips

19 on Sundays?

20 A. Sundays are usually the -- you know, the

21 day that you get the most cash.

22 Q. And would food runners get cash tips

23 directly from customers?

24 A. No, from the captain.

25 Q. So food runners would get a tip-out of cash

Page 75

1 tips from captains?

2 A. Yes.

3 Q. Okay. And that typically only happens on

4 Sundays?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Do food runners input tip amounts of cash

7 tips into the POS?

8 A. No.

9 Q. And do food runners share their cash tips?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

12 food runners give any amount of their cash tips to

13 anyone employed or associated with Kiki that is

14 prohibited from receiving tips?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Do you have any knowledge of food runners

17 giving any amount of their cash tips to an owner of

18 Kiki On the River?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Do you have any knowledge of

21 food runners -- strike that.

22 Do you have any knowledge of facts that

23 food runners give any amount of their cash tips to

24 Roman Jones?

25 A. No.

Page 76

1 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

2 food runners give cash tips to Sia Hemmati?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

5 food runners give their cash tips to managers at

6 Kiki On the River?

7 A. No.

8 Q. I'm sorry?

9 A. No.

10 Q. What are the duties of a barback?

11 A. Barback? Restock the bar, make sure

12 there's ice, clean up at the end of the night, the

13 bar area, take out the trash, and that's all,

14 basically. That's basically what they do.

15 Q. Okay. Do barbacks take customer orders?

16 A. They may take an order, but just to

17 transmit it to the bartender.

18 Q. Do barbacks input customer orders into the

19 POS at Kiki?

20 A. No.

21 Q. When they do receive a customer order, they

22 communicate it to the bartender?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. And then the bartender inputs the customer

25 order into the POS?

Page 77

1 A. And makes the drinks.

2 Q. So the answer to the question is "yes" and

3 the bartender makes the drinks?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Do barbacks have a number to access the

6 POS?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Do barbacks have any involvement in closing

9 a customer check?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do barbacks have any involvement in

12 processing a customer check?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Do barbacks take payments from customers at

15 Kiki?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do barbacks input tip amounts into the POS

18 when they're left on a credit card?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Do barbacks receive cash tips?

21 A. I assume so. I don't know. They're part

22 of the bartending pool, so I would say yes.

23 Q. So your testimony is that barbacks do

24 receive cash tips?

25 A. Yes.

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Page 78

1 Q. Okay. Do barbacks input cash tips into the

2 POS?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

5 barbacks know how tips are processed by the back of

6 the house to distribute to tipped employees?

7 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

8 MR. VELAZQUEZ: You can answer.

9 A. I don't think so, no.

10 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

11 Q. Do barbacks share their cash tips?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

14 barbacks give any amount of their cash tips to anyone

15 employed or associated with Kiki that is prohibited

16 from receiving tips?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

19 barbacks give any amount of their cash tips to an

20 owner of Kiki On the River?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

23 barbacks give any amount of their cash tips to Roman

24 Jones?

25 A. No.

Page 79

1 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

2 barbacks give their cash tips to Sia Hemmati?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

5 barbacks give any amount of their cash tips to

6 managers at Kiki On the River?

7 A. No.

8 Q. How does Kiki pay its tipped employees?

9 A. How do -- we have a base -- base hourly pay

10 and you get the tip share of the pool, and then you

11 get the -- a bonus, the bonus portion, I guess.

12 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read back the

13 answer, Madam Court Reporter?

14 (Requested portion read back.)

15 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

16 Q. And when you say "the tip share of the

17 pool," are you referring to Kiki's service charge?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. Okay. So it's your testimony that Kiki

20 pays its tipped employees with a base salary rate, a

21 percentage of the service charge, and a bonus?

22 A. Yeah.

23 Q. Yes?

24 A. Yes. Yes, sir.

25 Q. And what is an hourly rate?

Page 80

1 A. I believe in the State of Florida it's $8,

2 $8 an hour now, I don't know, 7.99. So when we

3 started, it was, like, $5 an hour, and it just went

4 up after a couple of years.

5 Q. Okay. And what is a service charge?

6 A. Service charge is the -- the -- well, what

7 it is, service charge. The name says it, service

8 charge.

9 Q. So is a service charge an amount or a

10 percentage that Kiki puts on all customer checks?

11 A. All customer checks have a service charge.

12 Q. Mm-hmm.

13 A. That service charge is broken down in

14 I think three parts. Service, right? A percentage

15 goes to service, which is the front of the house

16 staff, a percentage goes to breakage, I think, and

17 then another percentage goes to processing fees, and

18 stuff like that.

19 Q. Do you understand that a service charge can

20 be used by Kiki On the River any way they want to?

21 A. Excuse me?

22 Q. Do you understand that service charges, the

23 revenues generated from service charges can be used

24 by Kiki On the River any way they want to?

25 A. I've learned a lot, yes.

Page 81

1 Q. The answer to the question is yes?

2 A. Yes.

3 Q. Okay. And do you understand the difference

4 between a service charge and a customer tip?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Okay. And what is the difference for you

7 between a service charge and a customer tip?

8 A. The service charge is the service that

9 you're providing, but, like you said, they can do

10 whatever they want with the money. The tip is the

11 additional tip.

12 Q. Okay. And the tip, the additional tip is

13 the discretionary amount that the customer leaves,

14 right?

15 A. Right. So I don't want to add to this. So

16 let's say if you're doing a shift, in your mind you

17 are going in for $150 per shift. Let's go with a low

18 number, right? And then you're working for the

19 additional tip. You know? So that's how I used to

20 think about it.

21 Q. Okay. Now, at Kiki's, did co-workers use

22 tips, the word "tip" interchangeably to refer to

23 service charges also?

24 A. Some may because that terminology is

25 very -- it blends in very, like, together, you know?

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Page 82

1 Q. Uh-huh.

2 A. So you can easily be confused with that.

3 Q. And there's people in the class that would

4 be confused as it relates --

5 A. Well, not confused.

6 Q. Wait, let me finish the question. There's

7 people in the class that would be confused with what

8 a service charge is and what a tip is?

9 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

10 A. It's a possibility, yes.

11 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

12 Q. And there's people in the class that can

13 use the term "tip" to refer to service charge?

14 A. There's a possibility, yes.

15 Q. And did Kiki On the River use tips

16 interchangeably to refer to service charge?

17 A. No.

18 Q. And the service charge that Kiki places on

19 every check, do service workers receive a percentage

20 of that service charge?

21 A. Everyone who works for the front of the

22 house, yes.

23 Q. Do you know what a tip pool is?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. What is a tip pool?

Page 83

1 A. A tip pool, when a group of people are

2 working together and any revenues generated from the

3 service that you provide is distributed amongst the

4 group of people that work together.

5 Q. And when you say "revenues generated from

6 the service that you provide," are you referring to

7 tips, that is, amounts that customers leave for the

8 service that's been provided?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. And that's a discretionary amount based on

11 the customer, right?

12 A. No, I'm referring to the service charge.

13 Q. Okay. For purposes of our deposition,

14 tips, as I mentioned at the beginning of the

15 deposition, are amounts that are left by customers at

16 their discretion because they want to.

17 A. Right.

18 Q. Okay? Service charge are amounts that are

19 imposed by the restaurant on the customer.

20 A. Correct.

21 Q. Okay? So whenever you hear me say tips

22 before and now, I'm referring to that discretionary

23 amount that a customer leaves to employees.

24 A. Okay. Ask the question again.

25 Q. Have you understood that, though, during

Page 84

1 the course of the deposition?

2 A. Yes, sir.

3 Q. Okay.

4 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read back the

5 question, Madam Court Reporter?

6 (Requested portion read back.)

7 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

8 Q. So does Kiki pool credit card tips and then

9 distribute them to tipped employees?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. And as you previously testified, cash tips

12 were handled by the tip staff without Kiki's

13 involvement; is that correct?

14 A. Repeat the question.

15 Q. Cash tips were handled by the tip staff

16 without Kiki's involvement.

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Does Kiki have a formula that it uses to

19 determine the amount each tipped employee receives

20 from the tip pool as it relates to credit card tips?

21 A. They can't know how much tip you're getting

22 if it's cash. If it's --

23 Can you repeat the question, because I'm

24 confused here.

25 Q. Yeah, I'm not talking about cash tips now;

Page 85

1 I'm talking about credit card tips. So the question

2 is: Does Kiki have a formula that it uses to

3 determine the amount of -- strike that.

4 Does Kiki have a formula it uses to

5 determine the amount each tipped employee receives

6 from the credit card tips it's pooled?

7 A. I'm sure they do.

8 Q. Okay. Do you know what that formula is?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know if Kiki's formula for

11 distributing credit card tips includes a percentage

12 that's assigned to each tipped position?

13 A. That would be the -- the -- yes.

14 Q. Do you know that?

15 A. Do I know the formula?

16 Q. No, no. Do you know whether the formula

17 that Kiki uses to distribute credit card tips to

18 tipped employees includes a percentage that's

19 assigned to each tipped employee?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. And who determines the percentage that's

22 assigned to each tipped position at Kiki?

23 A. The owners.

24 Q. How do you know that?

25 A. Because I was complaining -- no, I wasn't

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Page 86

1 complaining. It was a conversation between Roman,

2 John Maria and myself, so -- where Roman said he was

3 going to suggest that the captains get 50 percent of

4 the tips in the next meeting. And that was a while

5 back.

6 Q. And when did that conversation that you

7 allege occurred with Roman and John Maria occur?

8 A. He was complaining because he said I was

9 lazy.

10 Q. No, I'm asking you when did it occur.

11 A. A few years back.

12 Q. And your testimony today here is that Roman

13 said he was going to suggest that captains receive

14 50 percent of credit card tips?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. And do you know what happened with Roman's

17 suggestion? Strike that.

18 Did Roman -- do you know if Roman Jones

19 made that suggestion?

20 A. I asked him about a month later.

21 Q. What do you allege Roman Jones told you?

22 A. He was working on it.

23 Q. And did captains ever receive 50 percent of

24 the credit card tips?

25 A. No.

Page 87

1 Q. So Roman's suggestion was not followed

2 through on; is that correct?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Let me rephrase that question. Was Roman's

5 suggestion that captains receive 50 percent of credit

6 card tips followed?

7 A. No, not to my knowledge.

8 Q. Okay. Do you have a month and year when

9 this conversation with Roman Jones occurred?

10 A. 2020. 2019. It could be 2019. Before

11 they opened up Grammercy.

12 Q. And who is John Maria?

13 A. He is another manager.

14 Q. So other than your testimony about this

15 suggestion that wasn't followed through on by

16 Roman Jones, do you have any facts that show that

17 owners determine the percentage of -- the percentage

18 assigned to tipped employees for credit card tips?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. What else?

21 A. Back in 2017, they tried a different

22 formula which we were getting the additional tip

23 documented, and then it lasted two weeks, I think.

24 Q. And who were the owners that you allege

25 participated in that 2017 effort to create a

Page 88

1 different formula? Strike that.

2 Do you know who the owners were that

3 participated in that 2017 effort to create a

4 different formula?

5 A. I didn't go to the managers meeting, so I

6 wouldn't know.

7 Q. Do you know if Roman Jones was involved in

8 that 2017 effort to change the formula?

9 A. I can't say for sure, but most likely.

10 Q. Do you know whether Roman Jones was

11 involved, yes or no?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know whether Sia Hemmati was

14 involved in the 2017 effort to change the formula?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Can you name me one owner by name that you

17 allege was involved in this 2017 effort to change the

18 formula?

19 A. I can't, I can't name nobody. I wasn't

20 present.

21 Q. Do you know the month in 2017 when this

22 alleged 2017 effort --

23 A. Not off the top of my head. I don't recall

24 exact dates.

25 Q. And your employment with Kiki started in

Page 89

1 2017?

2 A. Yeah.

3 Q. Was this before or after your -- strike

4 that.

5 Was this alleged effort to change the

6 formula --

7 A. It was towards --

8 Q. Was this alleged effort to change the

9 formula in 2017, did it occur after or before your

10 employment with Kiki?

11 A. After.

12 Q. Okay.

13 A. While I was working there.

14 Q. Okay. Do you know how the percentage

15 assignment is determined for each tipped employee?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you know if Kiki's tip formula includes

18 a point assignment for each tipped position?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. Do you know who determines the point

21 assignment for each tipped position?

22 A. I don't know.

23 Q. How is the point assignment determined for

24 each tipped position?

25 A. I don't recall.

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Page 90

1 Q. Pardon me?

2 A. I don't recall.

3 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts

4 pertaining to how a point assignment is determined

5 for each tipped employee?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. What -- what facts do you have?

8 A. Captains. I don't recall the exact points

9 for Kiki's.

10 Q. I'm not asking you about the points; I'm

11 asking you how the point assignments are determined.

12 Do you have any knowledge?

13 A. Yes, of course.

14 Q. Okay. So how are the point assignments

15 determined as it relates to each tipped employee?

16 A. So there's three positions, right?

17 Q. Uh-huh.

18 A. You have -- so you have captains, you have

19 your server, you have your food runner, and you have

20 your bussers and bartenders. Usually the captain

21 gets the highest points, the food runner and server

22 gets the same -- same amount of points, busser gets a

23 little -- a few points less, and I think the

24 bartenders get almost the same as the captains.

25 That's kind of how it goes, usually.

Page 91

1 Q. Okay. Go ahead.

2 A. Sometimes they have the hostess and they

3 get, like, busboy points, so they get a little less.

4 I think that's about it.

5 Q. So --

6 A. And we have sommeliers, too. So sommeliers

7 would get captain points. So, yeah, pretty much it

8 depends on your position and what your duties are.

9 Q. Okay. Does Kiki determine the hourly rate

10 of pay for captains?

11 A. The State of Florida does.

12 Q. But does Kiki determine how much they're

13 going to pay captains per hour? I'm not asking you

14 what the Florida minimum wage is; I'm asking you

15 whether Kiki determines how much they're going to pay

16 their captains per hour.

17 A. No.

18 Q. A while ago you testified that Kiki pays

19 their tipped employees a base hourly rate, correct?

20 A. Yeah.

21 Q. And you testified that they paid their

22 tipped employees a bonus, correct?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. And you testified that they pay their

25 tipped employees a percentage of the service charge

Page 92

1 that they impose, correct?

2 A. Right.

3 Q. Okay. I'm asking you about the base hourly

4 rate that Kiki pays its tipped employees. Does Kiki

5 make the determination of how much they are going to

6 pay their employees per hour?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. Pardon me?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. Okay. Do you know who is involved in

11 determining the hourly rate of pay for captains?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know how Kiki comes up with the

14 hourly rate of pay for captains?

15 A. No.

16 Q. What was the hourly rate of pay for

17 captains prior to your employment ending, excluding

18 the service charge?

19 A. If you do the math, I don't know the

20 exact -- the exact rate. A check would just say -- I

21 don't recall. I can't remember. I can't remember.

22 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates for

23 captains were after your employment ended at Kiki?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

Page 93

1 percentage that captains receive from the service

2 charge that the restaurant imposes?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

5 the commission percentage that captains receive from

6 the service charge?

7 A. I would say the owners do that.

8 Q. Do you know what owners are involved in

9 determining the commission percentage that captains

10 receive from the service charge?

11 A. No, I do not.

12 Q. Pardon me?

13 A. I do not.

14 Q. Do you know if Roman Jones is involved in

15 determining the commission percentage that captains

16 receive from the service charge?

17 A. He's involved, yes.

18 Q. How do you know that?

19 A. He told me in a conversation that he was

20 going to suggest in the meeting the 50 percent, so

21 he's involved.

22 Q. Okay. And that was the same 50 percent

23 that you alleged Roman Jones suggested, and it was

24 never implemented, correct?

25 A. Right.

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Page 94

1 Q. Do you have any other evidence suggesting

2 that Roman Jones was involved in determining the

3 commission percentage that captains receive from the

4 service charge?

5 A. Repeat the question.

6 Q. Do you have any other evidence suggesting

7 that Roman Jones is involved in determining the

8 commission percentage that captains receive from

9 service charge?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do you have any facts suggesting that

12 Roman Jones is involved in the commission percentage

13 that captains receive from service charge?

14 A. Like facts?

15 Q. Do you know of any facts suggesting that

16 Roman Jones is involved in determining the commission

17 percentage that captains receive from service

18 charges?

19 A. No facts.

20 Q. Do you know any facts that Sia Hemmati is

21 involved in determining the commission percentage

22 that captains receive from the service charge?

23 A. No.

24 Q. What were the commission percentages that

25 captains were paid from the service charges prior to

Page 95

1 your employment ending?

2 A. I don't know.

3 Q. What are the commission percentages that

4 captains are paid from the service charges after your

5 employment ended at Kiki's?

6 A. I don't know.

7 Q. Can you name any owner by name or do you

8 have any facts to support that any Kiki owner

9 determines the commission percentage that captains

10 receive from service charges?

11 A. Of course. They're the owners. They

12 decide who is going to get paid.

13 Q. And you're basing that on an assumption,

14 correct? You don't have any actual knowledge that

15 any owners are involved in determining the service

16 charge for captains?

17 A. So you're going to own a business, you're

18 not going to have a word in your business?

19 Q. The way it goes is that I ask you the

20 questions and you answer them, okay?

21 A. All right.

22 Q. Do you have any facts that suggest that any

23 of the owners are involved in determining the service

24 charge, the percentage of the service charge that

25 captains receive?

Page 96

1 A. No.

2 Q. Okay. Does Kiki determine the tip

3 percentage that captains receive from credit card

4 tips?

5 A. Repeat the question.

6 Q. Does Kiki determine the percentage of tips

7 that captains receive from credit card tips?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

10 the tip percentages that captains receive from credit

11 card tips?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

14 percentage that captains receive from credit card

15 tips?

16 A. No.

17 Q. What were the percentages of -- strike

18 that.

19 What were the tip percentages that

20 captains receive from credit card tips prior to your

21 employment ending?

22 A. I don't recall.

23 Q. What are the tip percentages that captains

24 receive from credit card tips after your employment

25 ended?

Page 97

1 A. I wouldn't know.

2 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 2.)

3 BY MR. POLLOCK:

4 Q. Let me show what you we'll mark as 2.

5 Take a look at what we've marked as

6 Defense Exhibit 2, and let me know when you're ready

7 to answer questions.

8 A. Okay.

9 Q. Have you seen Defense Exhibit 2 prior to

10 today?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Do you see the second page of Defense

13 Exhibit 2 where it says "Isabel Rondon" in the last

14 paragraph?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. And Isabel Rondon was the human resources

17 employee during your tenure at Kiki On the River?

18 A. Yes. She was -- when I started, she was

19 the manager and then later on she -- a few years

20 later she went to work at the office.

21 Q. Okay. And, I'm sorry, did you say you have

22 seen this document before today, or no?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Okay. And this document -- does this

25 document describe Kiki's tip pooling arrangement as

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1 it relates to optional tips?

2 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

3 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

4 Q. You can answer. Look at the top of the

5 first paragraph, the first two sentences.

6 So does Defense Exhibit 2 reflect Kiki's

7 policy for tip pooling as it relates to optional

8 tips?

9 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

10 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

11 Q. You can answer.

12 A. Let me look through this.

13 What was the question again, sir?

14 Q. Does Defense Exhibit 2 reflect Kiki's tip

15 pooling policy for employees that receive optional

16 tips?

17 MR. POLLOCK: The same objections.

18 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

19 Q. You can answer.

20 A. This is what's written on paper, yes.

21 Q. All right. And the paper that you have in

22 front of you that's marked as Exhibit 2 is Kiki's

23 policy as it relates to optional tips, correct?

24 MR. POLLOCK: Objection to form.

25 A. That's what it says on the paper.

Page 99

1 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

2 Q. Okay. And this policy would have been in

3 effect during your employment at Kiki On the River;

4 is that correct?

5 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

6 A. I don't know. I don't know.

7 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

8 Q. Was Isabella employed -- Isabel Rondon

9 employed while you were working at Kiki On the River?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. Okay. Do you know if this policy was in

12 place or in effect during your tenure at Kiki On the

13 River?

14 A. The point system on the bottom, yes. This

15 up on the top is questionable, so . . .

16 Q. So you don't know?

17 A. I don't know.

18 Q. Okay. So the point system was the policy

19 at Kiki On the River during your employment, but you

20 don't know about the percentages; is that correct?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that the

23 document that's in front of you that's marked

24 Exhibit 2 was not in effect during your employment

25 with Kiki On the River?

Page 100

1 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

2 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

3 Q. You can answer.

4 A. You're missing the captains on the paper,

5 so whoever drafted this up forgot to put captains in

6 there.

7 Q. The second -- strike that.

8 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read back my

9 question, please?

10 (Requested portion read back.)

11 A. No, it wasn't. This is actually wrong

12 anyway. It doesn't have the captains in here and the

13 points are off.

14 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

15 Q. So it's your testimony that the document

16 that's marked in front of you as Exhibit 2 was not in

17 effect during your tenure at Kiki On the River?

18 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

19 A. Okay. I don't know what the math is. What

20 it says here is nice, but what happens is a different

21 story.

22 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

23 Q. I'm not asking you what happened right now;

24 I'm asking you what's in front of you. What's in

25 front of you is Defense Exhibit 2. Can you answer

Page 101

1 the question yes or no?

2 A. No. I don't know. I don't recall.

3 Q. Do you have --

4 A. And this doesn't say anything.

5 Q. Let me finish the question. Do you have

6 knowledge of any facts that the document that's in

7 front of you marked Defense Exhibit 2 was not in

8 effect during your employment at Kiki On the River?

9 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

10 A. I can't say it was not in effect.

11 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

12 Q. Okay. Now you say that captains are not

13 referred to in here. Under operations of tip pools,

14 these are three separate tip pools, captains and

15 servers. In the following paragraph, contributions

16 to tip pools. The captains will contribute

17 50 percent of their tips to the captain/server pool.

18 The following paragraph. Distribution of tips from

19 tip pools. Captain/Server pools. Captains will

20 receive 70 percent of the tips, of the pooled tips,

21 and the servers will receive 30 percent of the pooled

22 tips. That's three references to captains there.

23 Where is it that you're not seeing captains?

24 A. On the bottom -- on your point system thing

25 all the way on the bottom.

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Page 102

1 Q. Okay. All right.

2 Do you have your personnel folder from

3 Kiki's?

4 A. My personnel folder?

5 Q. Yeah, your personnel file.

6 A. No.

7 Q. No? Do you know why your personnel file is

8 missing from Kiki On the River?

9 A. No. Why?

10 Q. No, I'm asking you, do you know why?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Did anybody ever give you your personnel

13 file from Kiki On the River?

14 A. No.

15 Q. You understand you're under oath here

16 today, right?

17 A. Yes.

18 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 3.)

19 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

20 Q. Let me show you what we'll mark as 3. Take

21 a look at this and let me know when you're ready to

22 answer, Mr. Collado.

23 Have you seen this document prior to

24 today?

25 A. No.

Page 103

1 Q. And did you testify earlier that your

2 employment came to an end in January of 2022?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. Okay. And this document is effective as

5 reflected on the bottom right hand of December 5,

6 2022?

7 A. I'm not employed there anymore.

8 Q. That's what the document says, correct?

9 Defense Exhibit 3, that it's effective December 5 of

10 2022?

11 A. Yeah.

12 Q. So you wouldn't have any knowledge as it

13 relates to the information contained in

14 Defense-Exhibit 2? Strike that. We're on 3, right?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. My apologies. So you wouldn't have any

17 knowledge with respect to the information contained

18 in Defense Exhibit 3?

19 A. Right. I wasn't an employee at that time.

20 For the record, they forgot to add the captains to

21 the list as well.

22 Q. Do you have any knowledge of captains

23 having a point assigned to them at Kiki On the River?

24 A. What do you mean a point?

25 Q. A point.

Page 104

1 A. Yes.

2 Q. And what is that knowledge based upon?

3 A. Excuse me? Knowledge?

4 Q. Let's go off the record a second.

5 (Recess was held from 12:14 p.m. until

6 12:18 p.m.)

7 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

8 Q. I just want to be clear, we're talking

9 about tips, right, not service charge here?

10 In relation to tips, do you have any

11 knowledge of a captain being assigned anything other

12 than a percentage of the tips that they receive?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Okay. Let me show you what we'll mark as

15 4.

16 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 4.)

17 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

18 Q. Take a look, Mr. Collado. Let me know when

19 you're ready.

20 Ready?

21 A. Yeah.

22 Q. Have you seen Defense Exhibit 4 prior to

23 today?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Is Defense Exhibit 4 something that would

Page 105

1 have been generated after your employment at Kiki

2 ended?

3 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

4 A. Yes.

5 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

6 Q. Okay. Servers. Does Kiki also determine

7 the hourly rate of pay that it's going to pay its

8 servers?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

11 the hourly rate of pay for servers?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

14 rate of pay it's going to pay its servers?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Do you know what the hourly rate of pay

17 were for servers prior to your employment ending at

18 Kiki?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

21 are for servers are after your employment ended at

22 Kiki's?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

25 percentage that servers receive from the service

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Page 106

1 charge the restaurant imposes?

2 A. Yes.

3 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

4 the commission percentage that servers receive from

5 service charges?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

8 commission percentage that servers receive from

9 service charges?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do you know what the commission percentage

12 servers were paid from the service charges prior to

13 your employment ending?

14 A. Repeat that, please.

15 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

16 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

17 Q. Do you know what the commission perc- --

18 strike that.

19 Do you know the commission percentages

20 that servers are paid from the service charges prior

21 to your employment ending?

22 A. No.

23 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

24 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

25 Q. Do you know the commission percentages that

Page 107

1 servers are paid from the service charges after your

2 employment ended at Kiki's?

3 A. Sorry?

4 Q. Do you know the commission percentages that

5 servers are paid from the service charges after your

6 employment ended at Kiki's?

7 A. No.

8 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

9 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

10 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentages

11 that servers receive from credit card tips?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

14 the tip percentages that servers receive from credit

15 card tips?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

18 percentage that servers receive from credit card

19 tips?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages for

22 servers were from credit card tips prior to your

23 employment ending?

24 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

25 A. No.

Page 108

1 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

2 Q. Do you know the tip percentages that

3 servers receive from credit card tips after your

4 employment ended?

5 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

6 A. No.

7 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

8 Q. Does Kiki determine the point amount that

9 servers are assigned to calculate the amount of

10 credit card tips they receive?

11 A. Can you repeat that, please?

12 Q. Sure. Does Kiki determine the point amount

13 that servers are assigned to calculate the amount of

14 credit card tips they receive?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

17 the point amount that servers are assigned to

18 calculate the amount of credit card tips they

19 receive?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the point

22 amount that servers are assigned to calculate the

23 amount of credit card tips they receive?

24 A. No.

25 Q. What were the point amounts that servers

Page 109

1 were assigned to calculate the amount of credit card

2 tips they received prior to your employment ending?

3 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

4 A. Repeat that, please.

5 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

6 Q. Do you know the point amounts that servers

7 were assigned to calculate the amount of credit card

8 tips they received prior to your employment ending?

9 MR. POLLOCK: Same.

10 A. No.

11 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

12 Q. Do you know the point amounts that servers

13 are assigned to calculate the amount of credit card

14 tips they received after your employment ended?

15 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

16 A. No.

17 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

18 Q. Pardon me?

19 A. Unless I go by this, it says eight points.

20 Q. Other than what you see in Defense Exhibit

21 3, do you have any knowledge?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Does Kiki determine the hourly rate of pay

24 for bartenders?

25 A. Yes.

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Page 110

1 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

2 the hourly rate of pay for bartenders?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

5 rate of pay for bartenders?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do you know the hourly rates of pay for

8 bartenders prior to your employment ending?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know the hourly rates of pay for

11 bartenders after your employment ended?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

14 percentage that bartenders received from the service

15 charges the restaurant imposes?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

18 the commission percentage that bartenders receive

19 from service charges?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

22 commission percentage that bartenders receive from

23 service charges?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

Page 111

1 are -- strike that.

2 Do you know what the commission

3 percentages were for bartenders prior to your

4 employment ending?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

7 were for bartenders from the service charges after

8 your employment ended?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentage that

11 bartenders receive from credit card tips?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

14 the tip percentage that bartenders receive from

15 credit card tips?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

18 percentage that bartenders receive from credit card

19 tips?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know the perc- -- strike that.

22 Do you know the tip percentages that

23 bartenders received from credit card tips prior to

24 your employment ending?

25 A. No.

Page 112

1 Q. Do you know the tip percentages that

2 bartenders received from credit card tips after your

3 employment ended?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Does Kiki determine the hourly rates of pay

6 for -- off the record.

7 (Discussion off the record.)

8 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

9 Q. Back on the record.

10 Does Kiki determine the hourly rates of

11 pay for bottle girls?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. And it's your understanding, Mr. Collado,

14 that the reference to bottle girls refers to bottle

15 servers; is that correct?

16 A. Right.

17 Q. Pardon me?

18 A. Yes, sir.

19 Q. Who is involved in determining the hourly

20 rates of pay -- strike that.

21 Do you know who is involved in determining

22 the hourly rates of pay for bottle girls?

23 A. Kiki On the River.

24 Q. But do you know who from Kiki On the River

25 is involved in determining the hourly rate of pay for

Page 113

1 bottle girls?

2 A. No.

3 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read that last

4 question back?

5 (Requested portion read back.)

6 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

7 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

8 rate of pay for bottle girls?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know the hourly rates of pay for

11 bottle server -- for bottle girls prior to your

12 employment ending?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Do you know the hourly rates of pay for

15 bottle girls after your employment ended?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

18 percentage that bottle girls receive from the service

19 charges restaurant -- the restaurant imposes?

20 A. Can you repeat that, please?

21 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

22 percentage that bottle girls receive from the service

23 charges the restaurant imposes?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

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Page 114

1 the commission percentage that bottle girls receive

2 from the service charges?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

5 commission percentage that bottle servers receive

6 from the service charges?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

9 were for bottle girls prior to your employment

10 ending?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Do you know what the commission percentage

13 was for bottle girls after your employment ended at

14 Kiki's?

15 A. No, I do not.

16 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentages

17 that bottle girls receive from credit card tips?

18 A. What was that, sir?

19 Q. Sure.

20 Does Kiki determine the tip percentages

21 that bottle girls receive from credit card tips?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

24 the tip percentage that bottle girls receive from

25 credit card tips?

Page 115

1 A. No.

2 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

3 percentage that bottle girls receive from credit card

4 tips?

5 A. No, I do not.

6 Q. Do you know the tip percentages that bottle

7 girls receive from credit card tips prior to your

8 employment ending?

9 A. No, sir.

10 Q. Do you know the tip percentages that bottle

11 girls receive from credit card tips after your

12 employment ended?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Do bottle girls receive a point assignment

15 for purposes of calculating credit card tips?

16 A. I don't know. It says eight points here.

17 Q. Okay. Do you know who is involved --

18 strike that.

19 When you said it says eight points here,

20 are you saying that --

21 A. Exhibit 2.

22 Q. Exhibit 2. So bottle girls receive eight

23 points?

24 A. That's what it says on there.

25 Q. Okay. Do you know who is involved in

Page 116

1 determining the point amount that bottle girls are

2 assigned to calculate the amount of credit card tips

3 they receive?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the point

6 amount that bottle girls are assigned to calculate

7 the amount of credit card tips they receive?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Do you know the point amounts that bottle

10 girls were assigned to calculate the amount of credit

11 card tips they received prior to your employment

12 ending?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Do you know the point amounts that bottle

15 girls were assigned to calculate the amount of credit

16 card tips they received after your employment ended?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Does Kiki determine the hourly rate of pay

19 for bussers?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

22 the hourly rate of pay for bussers?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

25 rate of pay for bussers?

Page 117

1 A. No.

2 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

3 for bussers were prior to your employment ending?

4 A. No, I don't recall.

5 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

6 for bussers are after your employment at Kiki ended?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

9 percentage that bussers receive from the service

10 charges the restaurant imposes?

11 A. Repeat that, sir.

12 Q. Sure. Does Kiki determine the commission

13 percentage that bussers received from the service

14 charge the restaurant imposes?

15 A. Yes.

16 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

17 the commission percentage that bussers receive from

18 the service charges?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

21 commission percentage that bussers receive from

22 service charges?

23 A. No, sir.

24 Q. Do you know what the commission percentage

25 for bussers were prior to your employment ending?

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Page 118

1 A. I don't recall.

2 Q. Do you know what the commission percentage

3 for bussers are for services charges after your

4 employment ended?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentage that

7 bussers receive from credit card tips?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. And who's involved in -- strike that.

10 Do you know who is involved in determining

11 the tip percentage that bussers receive from credit

12 card tips?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

15 percentage that bussers receive from credit card

16 tips?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages for

19 bussers were prior to your employment ending?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

22 for bussers from credit card tips --

23 Do you know what the tip percentages for

24 bussers were from credit card tips after your

25 employment ended?

Page 119

1 A. No.

2 Q. Does Kiki determine the point amount that

3 bussers are assigned to calculate the amount of

4 credit card tips they receive?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

7 the point amount that bussers are assigned to

8 calculate the amount of credit card tips they

9 received?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the point

12 amount that bussers are assigned to calculate the

13 amount of credit card tips they receive?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do you know what the point amount was for

16 bussers to calculate the amount of credit card tips

17 they received prior to your employment ending?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Do you know what the point amount was for

20 bussers to calculate the amount of credit card tips

21 they received after your employment ended?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Does Kiki determine how much hourly rate

24 they're going to pay their hosts?

25 A. Yes.

Page 120

1 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

2 the hourly rate of pay for hosts?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

5 rate of pay for hosts?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

8 for hosts were prior to your employment ending?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

11 are for hosts after your employment ended?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

14 percentage that hosts receive from the service

15 charges the restaurant imposes?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

18 the commission percentage that hosts receive from the

19 service charges?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

22 commission percentage that hosts receive from the

23 service charges?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

Page 121

1 were that hosts received prior to your employment

2 ending?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you know the commission percentage that

5 hosts received from service charges after your

6 employment ended?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentage that

9 hosts receive from credit card tips?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. Who is involved in determining the tip

12 percentage -- strike that.

13 Do you know who is involved in determining

14 the tip percentage that hosts receive from credit

15 card tips?

16 A. Repeat that.

17 Q. Sure. Do you know who is involved in

18 determining the tip percentage that hosts receive

19 from credit card tips?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

22 percentage that hosts receive from credit card tips?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

25 for hosts from the credit card tips prior to your

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Page 122

1 employment ending?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

4 for hosts from credit card tips after your employment

5 ended?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Does Kiki determine the point amount that

8 hosts are assigned to calculate the amount of credit

9 card tips they receive?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Is that because hosts do not get points?

12 A. They get points?

13 Q. The question was: Does Kiki determine the

14 point amount that hosts are assigned to calculate the

15 amount of credit card tips they receive? I thought I

16 you answered "no" to that.

17 A. Oh, I'm sorry. The answer to that is yes.

18 Q. Do you know who was involved in determining

19 the point amount that hosts are assigned to calculate

20 the amount of credit card tips they receive?

21 A. No, I do not.

22 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the point

23 amount that hosts are assigned to calculate the

24 amount of credit card tips they receive?

25 A. No, I don't.

Page 123

1 Q. Do you know what the point amounts were for

2 hosts to calculate their credit card tips prior to

3 your employment ending?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Do you know what the point amounts were for

6 hosts to calculate credit card tips after your

7 employment ended?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Does Kiki determine the hourly rate of pay

10 for dockmasters?

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. Do you know who was involved in determining

13 the hourly rates of pay for dockmasters?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

16 rates of pay for dockmasters?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

19 for dockmasters were prior to your employment ending?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

22 for dockmasters are after your employment ended?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

25 percentage that dockmasters receive from the service

Page 124

1 charges the restaurant imposes?

2 A. Repeat that, please.

3 Q. Sure. Does Kiki determine the commission

4 percentage that dockmasters receive from the service

5 charges the restaurant imposes?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. Do you know who was involved in determining

8 the commission percentage that dockmasters received

9 from the service charges?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

12 commission percentage that dockmasters receive from

13 service charges?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

16 for dockmasters were from the service charges prior

17 to your employment ending?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

20 for dockmasters were from the service charges after

21 your employment ended?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentages

24 that dockmasters receive from credit card tips?

25 A. No.

Page 125

1 I'm sorry, what was that question again?

2 Q. You want to take a break?

3 A. Yeah.

4 (Recess was held from 12:44 p.m. until 12:56 p.m.)

5 (Requested portion read back.)

6 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

7 Q. Mr. Collado, are you ready to move forward?

8 A. Yes, sir.

9 Q. Excellent. So does Kiki determine the tip

10 percentage that dockmasters receive from credit card

11 tips?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

14 the tip percentages that dockmasters receive from

15 credit card tips?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

18 percentage that dockmasters receive from credit card

19 tips?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know what the tip percentage was for

22 dockmasters from credit card tips prior to your

23 employment ending?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

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Page 126

1 for dockmasters from credit card tips after your

2 employment ended?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Does Kiki determine how much they're going

5 to pay food runners per hour?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

8 the hourly rate of pay for food runners?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

11 rate of pay for food runners?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

14 for food runners were prior to your employment

15 ending?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

18 for food runners were after your employment ended?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

21 percentage that food runners receive from the service

22 charges the restaurant imposes?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

25 the commission percentage that food runners receive

Page 127

1 from the service charges?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

4 commission percentage that food runners receive from

5 the service charges?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

8 were for food runners from the service charges prior

9 to your employment ending?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

12 were for food runners from the service charges after

13 your employment ended?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentage that

16 food runners receive from credit card tips?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

19 the tip percentages that food runners receive from

20 credit card tips?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

23 percentage that food runners receive from credit card

24 tips?

25 A. No.

Page 128

1 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

2 for food runners from the credit card tips prior to

3 your employment ending?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

6 for food runners from credit card tips after your

7 employment ended?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Does Kiki determine the point amount that

10 food runners are assigned to calculate the amount of

11 credit card tips they receive?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Who is involved in determining the point

14 amount that food runners are assigned to calculate --

15 strike that.

16 Do you know who is involved in determining

17 the point amount that food runners are assigned to

18 calculate the amount of credit card tips they

19 receive?

20 A. No, I do not.

21 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the point

22 amount that food runners are assigned to calculate

23 the amount of credit card tips they receive?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Do you know the point amounts that

Page 129

1 food runners were assigned to calculate the amount of

2 credit card tips they received prior to your

3 employment ending?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Do you know the point amounts that

6 food runners were assigned to calculate the amount of

7 credit card tips they received after your employment

8 ended?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Does Kiki determine the hourly rate of pay

11 for barbacks?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

14 the hourly rate of pay for barbacks?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the hourly

17 rate of pay for barbacks?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Do you know what the hourly rate of pay was

20 for barbacks prior to your employment ending?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Do you know what the hourly rates of pay

23 for barbacks were after your employment at Kiki's

24 ended?

25 A. No.

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Page 130

1 Q. Does Kiki determine the commission

2 percentage that barbacks receive from the service

3 charges the restaurant imposes?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

6 the commission percentage that barbacks receive from

7 the service charges?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the

10 commission percentage that barbacks receive from the

11 service charges?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

14 were for barbacks for service charges prior to your

15 employment ending?

16 A. No, sir.

17 Q. Do you know what the commission percentages

18 were for barbacks from service charges after your

19 employment ended?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentage that

22 barbacks receive from credit card tips?

23 A. What was that?

24 Q. Does Kiki determine the tip percentage that

25 barbacks receive from credit card tips?

Page 131

1 A. Yes.

2 Q. Do you know who is involved in determining

3 the tip percentage that barbacks receive from credit

4 card tips?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do you know how Kiki determines the tip

7 percentage that barbacks receive from credit card

8 tips?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

11 for barbacks from credit card tips prior to your

12 employment ending?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Do you know what the tip percentages were

15 for barbacks from credit card tips after your

16 employment ended?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Okay. Let's break for lunch.

19 (Recess was held from 1:02 p.m. until 1:51 p.m.)

20 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

21 Q. Mr. Collado, did any employee or

22 representative of Kiki that is prohibited from

23 receiving tips take cash tips from the captain?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

Page 132

1 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

2 from servers?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

5 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

6 from bartenders?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

9 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

10 from bottle girls?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

13 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

14 from bussers?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

17 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

18 from hosts?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

21 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

22 from dockmasters?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

25 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

Page 133

1 from food runners?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Did any employee or representative of Kiki

4 that is prohibited from receiving tips take cash tips

5 from barbacks?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Did any owner of Kiki take cash tips from

8 captains?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Did any owner of Kiki take cash tips from

11 servers?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Did any owner of Kiki take cash tips from

14 bartenders?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Did any owner of Kiki take cash tips from

17 bottle girls?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Did any owner of Kiki take cash tips from

20 bussers?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Did any owner of Kiki's take cash tips from

23 hosts?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Did any owner of Kiki's take cash tips from

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Page 134

1 dockmasters?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Did any owner of Kiki's take cash tips from

4 food runners?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Did any owner of Kiki's take cash tips from

7 barbacks?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

10 tips from captains?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

13 tips from servers?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

16 tips from bartenders?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

19 tips from bottle girls?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

22 tips from bussers?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

25 tips from hosts?

Page 135

1 A. No.

2 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

3 tips from dockmasters?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

6 tips from food runners?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Did Roman Jones or Sia Hemmati take cash

9 tips from barbacks?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

12 captains?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

15 servers?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

18 bartenders?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

21 bottle servers?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Strike that.

24 Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

25 bottle girls?

Page 136

1 A. No.

2 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

3 bussers?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

6 hosts?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

9 dockmasters?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

12 food runners?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Did any Kiki manager take cash tips from

15 barbacks?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you have any knowledge of cash tips

18 being unlawfully taken from any tipped employee?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Prior to the filing of this lawsuit, have

21 you ever heard of RJ River, LLC?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Do you know what RJ River, LLC is?

24 A. Roman Jones.

25 Q. Do you know what the company is, RJ River,

Page 137

1 LLC? Do you know what the company is?

2 A. No, sir.

3 Q. Do you know what the company RJ River, LLC

4 does?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do you know what type of a business

7 RJ River, LLC is?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Do you know the ownership structure of

10 RJ River, LLC?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Do you know who the owners of RJ River, LLC

13 are?

14 A. I know it's Roman Jones. I don't know if

15 there's anybody else in there.

16 Q. How do you know that Roman Jones is one of

17 the owners of RJ River, LLC?

18 A. Because it's RJ, Roman Jones, isn't it?

19 Q. So you're assuming because the business is

20 named RJ River, LLC, that the "RJ" stands for

21 Roman Jones?

22 A. Yes, sir.

23 Q. Do you have any other facts that will

24 support your suggestion that Roman Jones is an owner

25 of RJ River, LLC?

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Page 138

1 A. No.

2 Q. Do you know who the officers of RJ River,

3 LLC are?

4 A. No, I don't even know who RJ River is,

5 except for it popped up all of a sudden that

6 Roman Jones is involved.

7 Q. Do you know if RJ River, LLC has a business

8 relationship with Kiki On the River?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know if Roman Jones has a position

11 with RJ River, LLC?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Do you know if Roman Jones is an employee

14 of RJ River, LLC?

15 A. No, I don't know.

16 Q. Does Roman Jones have any duties associated

17 with RJ River?

18 A. I don't know.

19 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

20 Roman Jones has duties associated with RJ River?

21 A. I don't know.

22 Q. I'm sorry?

23 A. I don't know.

24 Q. But do you have any knowledge of any facts

25 that Roman Jones has duties associated with RJ River?

Page 139

1 A. Repeat the question, please.

2 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you repeat the

3 question, Madam Court Reporter?

4 (Requested portion read back.)

5 A. No.

6 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

7 Q. Does Roman Jones have any responsibilities

8 associated with RJ River, LLC?

9 A. I don't even know who RJ River, LLC is.

10 Q. Okay. So that's not what I'm asking you.

11 I'm asking you if Roman Jones has any responsi- --

12 whether you --

13 A. I don't know.

14 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

15 Roman Jones has responsibilities associated with

16 RJ River, LLC?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Does RJ River have any employees?

19 A. I don't know.

20 Q. Do you have any knowledge -- do you have

21 any knowledge of facts that RJ River has employees?

22 A. I don't know.

23 Q. Pardon me?

24 A. No, I don't.

25 Q. Okay.

Page 140

1 A. Google.

2 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in the collection

3 of credit card tips from Kiki On the River?

4 A. I wouldn't know.

5 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

6 RJ River, LLC is involved in the collection of credit

7 card tips from Kiki On the River?

8 A. I wouldn't know.

9 Q. Do you have any knowledge of any facts that

10 RJ River is involved in the collection of credit card

11 tips from Kiki On the River?

12 A. No, I don't.

13 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River collect

14 credit card tips for Kiki On the River?

15 A. I don't know.

16 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

17 anyone employed at RJ River collects credit card tips

18 for Kiki On the River?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in the

21 collection -- strike that.

22 Is anyone employed with RJ River, LLC --

23 Do you have knowledge of any facts that

24 anyone employed with RJ River, LLC has collected

25 cash tips from tipped employees at Kiki On the

Page 141

1 River?

2 A. Can we take a second?

3 Q. Sure.

4 (Discussion off the record.)

5 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read back for me,

6 please?

7 (Requested portion read back.)

8 A. The answer is no.

9 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

10 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River collect

11 cash tips from Kiki On the River?

12 A. I don't know.

13 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts from

14 anyone employed with RJ River collecting cash tips

15 from Kiki On the River?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts of

18 anyone associated or working with RJ River taking

19 cash tips from any tipped employee at Kiki On the

20 River?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Is RJ River involved in the processing of

23 credit card tips from Kiki On the River?

24 A. I don't know.

25 Q. Do you have any knowledge of facts that

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1 RJ River's involved in the processing of credit card

2 tips for Kiki On the River?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River process

5 credit card tips from Kiki On the River?

6 A. I don't know.

7 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts of

8 anyone employed with RJ River processing credit card

9 tips from Kiki On the River?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in the processing

12 of cash tips from Kiki On the River?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River process

15 cash tips from Kiki On the River?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in the

18 distribution of credit card tips from Kiki On the

19 River?

20 A. I don't know.

21 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

22 RJ River is involved in the distribution of credit

23 card tips from Kiki On the River?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River

Page 143

1 distribute credit card tips from Kiki On the River?

2 A. I don't know.

3 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

4 anyone employed with RJ River distributes credit card

5 tips from Kiki On the River?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in the

8 distribution of cash tips from Kiki On the River?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River

11 distribute cash tips from Kiki On the River?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in the hiring of

14 employees at Kiki On the River?

15 A. I don't know.

16 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

17 RJ River is involved in the hiring of employees on

18 Kiki On the River?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River hire

21 Kiki employees?

22 A. I don't know.

23 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

24 anyone employed with RJ River hire Kiki employees?

25 A. No.

Page 144

1 Q. Is RJ River involved in the firing of

2 employees at Kiki On the River?

3 A. I don't know.

4 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

5 RJ River is involved in the firing of employees at

6 Kiki On the River?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River fire

9 Kiki employees?

10 A. I don't know.

11 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

12 anyone employed with RJ River fires Kiki employees?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Is RJ River involved in the discipline of

15 employees at Kiki On the River?

16 A. I don't know.

17 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts of

18 RJ River being involved in the discipline of

19 employees at Kiki On the River?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Does anyone employed by RJ River discipline

22 Kiki employees?

23 A. I don't know.

24 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

25 anyone employed with RJ River disciplines Kiki

Page 145

1 employees?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Is RJ River involved in the supervision of

4 employees at Kiki On the River?

5 A. I don't know.

6 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts of

7 RJ River being involved in the supervision of

8 employees at Kiki On the River?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River

11 supervise the work of Kiki employees?

12 A. I can't answer that question because I

13 don't know who -- RJ I'm saying is Roman Jones. It

14 says RJ River and Roman Jones. Is it the same

15 person?

16 Q. Are you referring to the complaint?

17 A. Yeah, I'm reading this here.

18 Q. The complaint names three defendants, one

19 of them is 450 North River Drive, doing business as

20 Kiki On the River. The other one is RJ River, LLC.

21 And the third defendant is Roman Jones. So

22 Roman Jones and RJ River, LLC are two distinct --

23 A. Okay. Just go back to the last question,

24 please.

25 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Madam Court Reporter.

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1 (Requested portion read back.)

2 A. I don't know.

3 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

4 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

5 anyone employed with RJ River supervises the work of

6 Kiki employees?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in the

9 preparation of work schedules of employees at Kiki On

10 the River?

11 A. I don't know.

12 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

13 anyone at RJ River is involved in the preparation of

14 work schedules for employees at Kiki On the River?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Does anyone employed by RJ River prepare

17 the work schedules of Kiki employees?

18 A. I don't know.

19 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

20 anyone employed with RJ River prepares the work

21 schedules of Kiki employees?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in controlling

24 the conditions of employment -- of employees at Kiki

25 On the River?

Page 147

1 A. I don't know.

2 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

3 RJ River is involved in controlling the conditions of

4 employment of employees at Kiki On the River?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River control

7 the conditions of employment of Kiki employees?

8 A. I don't know.

9 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

10 anyone employed with RJ River controls the conditions

11 of employment of Kiki employees?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Is RJ River involved in determining the

14 rate of pay of Kiki employees?

15 A. I don't know.

16 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

17 any -- that RJ River is involved in determining the

18 rate of pay of employees at Kiki On the River?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River

21 determine the rate of pay of Kiki employees?

22 A. I don't know.

23 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

24 anyone employed with RJ River determines the rate of

25 pay of Kiki employees?

Page 148

1 A. No.

2 Q. Is RJ River, LLC involved in determining

3 how Kiki employees are paid?

4 A. I don't know.

5 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

6 RJ River is involved in determining how Kiki

7 employees are paid?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River

10 determine how Kiki employees are paid?

11 A. I don't know.

12 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

13 anyone employed with RJ River determines how Kiki

14 employees are paid?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Is RJ River involved in maintaining Kiki's

17 employment records?

18 A. I don't know.

19 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

20 RJ River is involved in maintaining Kiki's employment

21 records?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Does anyone employed with RJ River maintain

24 Kiki's employment records?

25 A. I don't know.

Page 149

1 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts of

2 anyone employed with RJ River maintaining Kiki's

3 employment records?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Do you know if Roman Jones has a position

6 with Kiki On the River?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. And how do you know that Roman Jones has a

9 position with Kiki On the River?

10 A. I worked there for five years.

11 Q. Okay. What is Roman Jones' position with

12 Kiki On the River?

13 A. He is an owner.

14 Q. Do you know if Roman Jones is also an

15 employee of Kiki On the River?

16 A. He is an owner. Yes, he -- he's employed

17 there. I mean, an owner is a partner of a business.

18 Employee and owner.

19 Q. So is it your testimony that you're

20 assuming that because you believe Roman Jones is an

21 owner, that he's also an employee of Kiki?

22 A. That's a trick question. I own the place,

23 but am I an employee of it?

24 Q. That's not the question. I asked you

25 first: Is Roman Jones an owner of Kiki?

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Page 150

1 A. Yes.

2 Q. And now I'm asking you: Is Roman Jones an

3 employee of Kiki?

4 A. I will say yes to that.

5 Q. And how do you know Roman Jones is an

6 employee of Kiki?

7 A. Why?

8 Q. How do you know that he is an employee of

9 Kiki's?

10 A. Because I worked there five years, that's

11 all I know.

12 Q. And what about you working there for five

13 years led you to believe that Roman Jones is an

14 employee of Kiki?

15 A. All right. So he's an owner and he's not

16 an employee then.

17 Q. Okay. Does Roman Jones have any duties

18 associated with Kiki On the River?

19 A. Not any specific duties, that I know of.

20 Q. Does Roman Jones have any responsibilities

21 associated with Kiki On the River?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. And what are the responsibilities that you

24 believe Roman Jones has with Kiki On the River?

25 A. Maintaining an image for the restaurant and

Page 151

1 ran ideas, innovation of the restaurant, making it

2 different, and bringing in high-end clientele.

3 Q. Any other responsibilities that you believe

4 Roman Jones has with Kiki On the River other than the

5 ones that you've just identified?

6 A. No.

7 Q. And how do you know that those are

8 responsibilities that Roman Jones has at Kiki On the

9 River, the ones that you've just identified?

10 A. Because also he would do every week, the

11 same thing over and over again. He comes up with

12 something new, bringing in his high-end clients from

13 his Rolodex of nightclub life, and making people

14 spend money.

15 Q. Okay. Outside of the responsibilities you

16 just mentioned, any other responsibilities?

17 A. That I know of, that's it.

18 Q. Okay. Is Roman Jones involved in the

19 collection of credit card tips from Kiki On the

20 River?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the collection

23 of cash tips from Kiki On the River customers?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the collection

Page 152

1 of cash tips at all from Kiki On the River?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the processing

4 of credit card tips from Kiki On the River customers?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the distribution

7 of credit card tips from Kiki On the River customers?

8 A. I'll have to say yes to that.

9 Q. And how do you know that Roman Jones is

10 involved in the distribution of credit card tips from

11 Kiki On the River customers?

12 A. Because he told me himself.

13 Q. What did Roman Jones tell you in relation

14 to him allegedly being involved in the distribution

15 of credit card tips?

16 A. He said he was going to give us 50 percent

17 of whatever additional tips we receive.

18 Q. And that was pertaining to the testimony

19 that you provided earlier?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. And that was the 50 percent that was

22 never -- never came to fruition; is that correct?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Other than that testimony that you provided

25 earlier, do you have any knowledge of facts that

Page 153

1 Roman Jones is involved in the distribution of credit

2 card tips from Kiki On the River customers?

3 A. No.

4 Q. And to be clear, your prior testimony was

5 that that was a suggestion of Roman Jones; is that

6 correct?

7 A. Yes, he was going to mention it in the

8 meeting.

9 Q. Okay.

10 A. Weekly meetings.

11 Q. I'm sorry?

12 A. They have a weekly meeting on Wednesdays.

13 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the hiring of

14 employees at Kiki On the River?

15 A. I think from time to time he would refer

16 somebody.

17 Q. It's your testimony that Roman Jones would

18 refer somebody to be considered for employment at

19 Kiki On the River?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. Okay. And do you know if Roman Jones is

22 actually involved in the decision-making as it

23 relates to hiring at Kiki On the River?

24 A. Well, I'm not a hundred percent sure, no.

25 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

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1 Roman Jones is involved in the hiring of employees at

2 Kiki On the River?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the firing of

5 employees at Kiki On the River?

6 A. Not personally, no.

7 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the disciplining

8 of employees at Kiki On the River?

9 A. Not personally, no. Or not directly, I

10 mean.

11 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you go back two

12 questions, please, Madam Court Reporter?

13 (Requested portion read back.)

14 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

15 Q. What do you mean by your answer as it

16 relates to Roman Jones being involved in the firing

17 of employees when you say "not personally"?

18 A. Well, indirectly, I'd say.

19 Q. And how do you know that Roman Jones is

20 indirectly involved in the firing of employees at

21 Kiki On the River?

22 A. Well, if you're -- if somebody gets, like,

23 let's say a client doesn't -- he says -- let's say

24 I'm a captain, right, for example, and I piss off one

25 of his clients, spent a lot of money, and there's a

Page 155

1 disciplinary action that may come down the line. And

2 once it gets -- they'll contact him, let him know

3 what happened or whatever, and there will be some

4 disciplinary action coming down the pipeline. So he

5 will send the word in. It will happen. But

6 directly, he won't come directly to you and tell you

7 you're fired; he will just come around the corner.

8 Q. Do you know of Roman Jones ever terminating

9 an employee at Kiki On the River?

10 A. Personally, no. Directly, no.

11 Q. Do you know of Roman Jones ever indirectly

12 firing an employee at Kiki On the River?

13 A. I think yes.

14 Q. Who?

15 A. It was, let's see -- I know the reason. I

16 don't know who.

17 Q. So what was the alleged reason that you

18 claim Roman Jones was indirectly involved in the

19 firing of an employee at Kiki On the River?

20 A. A captain told the guest to tip in cash and

21 not put it on the credit card because they won't get

22 the tip. I can find out who it was, the person, but

23 I can't remember. I don't recall who it was exactly

24 right now.

25 Q. And when did this alleged incident occur?

Page 156

1 A. While I was working there.

2 Q. You worked there for a long time. What

3 month and year did the alleged incident occur?

4 A. I don't recall the exact year, but if I

5 ask, I can find out.

6 Q. So you don't know the name of the captain

7 involved, and you don't know the year that this

8 alleged incident occurred where you claim Roman Jones

9 was indirectly involved in the termination of a

10 captain?

11 A. If you give me a little time, I will find

12 out for you.

13 Q. Do you know right now?

14 A. No.

15 Q. And how do you know that Roman Jones was

16 indirectly involved in the termination of this

17 captain?

18 A. It was one of his friends, and they

19 contacted him and let him know.

20 Q. Were you privy to the conversation? Strike

21 that.

22 Were you privy to this alleged

23 conversation between this friend and Roman Jones?

24 A. No.

25 Q. So how do you know what the friend told

Page 157

1 Roman Jones as it relates to this captain?

2 A. Because the manager threatened everybody

3 else with that notice, all captains, put them on

4 alert. Whoever does that again will get the same

5 results.

6 Q. And what else did the captain say? Strike

7 that.

8 What else did the manager say?

9 A. That's it. He said, "Whoever does that

10 gets fired, too, so don't do it."

11 Q. At any point in time, did this manager

12 mention Roman Jones when he was telling people --

13 telling the captains not to ask for cash tips?

14 A. Yes.

15 Q. He did?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. And what did he say about Roman Jones?

18 A. He said one of Roman's friends complained

19 to him that the captain asked him for cash, and he

20 got fired.

21 Q. Is that the only thing that the manager

22 told the captains?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Did the managers tell the captains that

25 Roman Jones said to fire the captain?

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Page 158

1 A. I don't know who fired the captain, but he

2 got fired. You just don't do it.

3 Q. The question is: Do you know if

4 Roman Jones ever said that that captain had to be

5 fired?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Your response to the question pertaining to

8 discipline was the same. Is the example that you

9 just gave as it relates to this alleged termination

10 of a captain, what you were referring to in response

11 to the discipline question?

12 MR. POLLOCK: Object to form.

13 You can answer.

14 A. Repeat the question, sir.

15 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

16 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the discipline

17 of employees at Kiki On the River?

18 A. I'd say yes.

19 Q. And what is the basis of that answer that

20 he's involved in the discipline of employees at Kiki

21 On the River?

22 A. Well, if something is not going right, he

23 would tell the manager to -- direct the manager to

24 issue an order, and the manager would issue the

25 order.

Page 159

1 Q. Have you ever heard Roman Jones tell a

2 manager to fire an employee?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Has anybody in the class told you that

5 Roman Jones instructed a manager to fire an employee?

6 A. In the class?

7 Q. In the class that you're representing here

8 today, has anybody in that class told you that Roman

9 Jones has instructed a manager to discipline an

10 employee?

11 A. I don't recall.

12 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts

13 pertaining to someone in the class telling you that

14 Roman Jones instructed a manager to terminate an

15 employee of Kiki On the River?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the daily

18 supervision of employees at Kiki On the River?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Does Roman Jones prepare the work schedules

21 of employees at Kiki On the River?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in the scheduling

24 of employees at Kiki On the River?

25 A. No.

Page 160

1 Q. Does Roman Jones control the day-to-day

2 conditions of employment -- of employees at Kiki On

3 the River?

4 A. No.

5 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

6 MR. VELAZQUEZ: What was the problem with

7 the question?

8 MR. POLLOCK: You said did Roman Jones

9 control the day-to-day conditions of employment.

10 I don't know if he necessarily knows what

11 conditions of employment means, and so the

12 question is vague and broad.

13 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

14 Q. When you were employed at Kiki On the

15 River, you saw Roman Jones at the restaurant?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. And what would Roman Jones do at the

18 restaurant?

19 A. Most nights he's like a host. And he's a

20 special character.

21 Q. And when you say he is a host, was Roman

22 Jones interacting with the guests?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. While you see Roman Jones, while you were

25 employed at Kiki On the River, did you ever see him

Page 161

1 specifically directing the work of employees?

2 A. It depends.

3 Q. Who handles the work of employees at Kiki

4 On the River on a regular shift?

5 A. The manager on duty.

6 Q. And your prior testimony was that when

7 Roman Jones was at the restaurant, he's a host,

8 correct?

9 A. Yeah, not a host, like a doorman, but he

10 will greet, talk to the guests, send them a round of

11 drinks. You know, be a host, like hospitality, the

12 host.

13 Q. And when you see Roman Jones, is he

14 directing the work of Kiki employees as his primary

15 responsibility when he's at Kiki On the River?

16 A. No, no, he's like a -- he acts like a

17 customer.

18 Q. Is Roman Jones involved in determining the

19 rate of pay of employees at Kiki On the River?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. And how do you know that Roman Jones is

22 involved in determining the rate of pay of Kiki On

23 the River?

24 A. Well, he told me himself he's going to make

25 a suggestion, so he has some kind of influence.

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Page 162

1 Q. And the suggestion you're talking about is

2 the testimony that you previously provided?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. And outside of that, you don't have any

5 knowledge of any facts that Roman Jones is involved

6 in determining the rate of pay of employees at Kiki

7 On the River?

8 A. No.

9 MR. REISS: It's not clear.

10 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read back the

11 question and answer, please?

12 (Requested portion read back.)

13 MR. REISS: It's up to you. It could be

14 more clear. I'm sorry I interrupted.

15 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Let's take a moment.

16 (Recess was held from 2:32 p.m. until 2:39 p.m.)

17 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

18 Q. Okay. Mr. Collado, outside the testimony

19 that you've previously provided regarding Mr. Jones

20 suggesting increasing the captain's tip percentage to

21 50 percent, do you have any knowledge of facts that

22 Roman Jones is involved in determining the rate of

23 pay of employees at Kiki On the River?

24 A. Besides that, no.

25 Q. What is your understanding based on your

Page 163

1 personal observation while you were employed at Kiki

2 of Roman Jones' day-to-day involvement in the

3 operations of Kiki On the River?

4 A. Day to day, he's not involved.

5 Q. Your answer was that he was not involved?

6 A. Not on the day-to-day operations, no.

7 Q. Okay. Is Roman Jones involved in

8 maintaining Kiki's employment records?

9 A. No.

10 Q. During your employment at Kiki On the

11 River, were credit card tips distributed to the

12 tipped employees on their payroll checks?

13 A. Yes.

14 Q. Were credit card tips distributed to tipped

15 employees in any other matter?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Do you know the names of the employees that

18 processed the payroll for Kiki On the River during

19 your employment?

20 A. One of them passed away, that was the

21 beginning. The name was John. John, he was a very

22 nice gentleman. He passed away during COVID. And

23 then after that --

24 Q. Is the John you're referring to John

25 Langout?

Page 164

1 A. Yeah, I believe that was the last name,

2 yes.

3 Q. And it's your testimony that John Langout

4 was involved in processing the payroll of Kiki On the

5 River employees?

6 A. In the beginning, yes, for a few years.

7 Then he got sick, then somebody else took over.

8 Q. How long was John Langout processing

9 payroll for Kiki On the River during your employment?

10 A. About three years.

11 Q. So, approximately, from 2017 to 2020?

12 A. Yeah, like mid '19. '19.

13 Q. And do you know who replaced John?

14 A. There's a few people in the office. I

15 can't -- I can't really. I don't know what

16 everybody's duties were. I know they have a CFO now.

17 Just . . . I don't know his name. I have his name on

18 the back of my head.

19 Q. And do you know what John Langout's duties

20 at Kiki On the River were while he was employed

21 there?

22 A. Well, he was -- he was in the office, I

23 guess. He would count the money that came in at the

24 end, daily. And to be honest with you, I don't know

25 his exact duties. I can't really -- I know I went to

Page 165

1 the office. He was the one to talk to when you had a

2 problem with your paycheck or something like that.

3 Q. The original question was the name of the

4 employees that processed payroll for Kiki On the

5 River during your employment.

6 A. Or ADP or something like that?

7 Q. Okay. So do you know the name of the

8 employee at Kiki On the River that would process

9 payroll during your employment?

10 A. Petra.

11 Can I use my phone for a second to pull

12 out a name?

13 MR. POLLOCK: No.

14 A. I can't remember his name. I can't

15 remember. I don't recall.

16 Q. And how do you know that Petra processed

17 payroll for Kiki On the River during your employment?

18 A. Well, there's only two people in the

19 office, so . . .

20 Q. Do you have any firsthand actual knowledge

21 that Petra processed payroll for Kiki On the River

22 during your employment?

23 A. No, I do not.

24 Q. Do you know who processed payroll for Kiki

25 On the River during your employment?

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Page 166

1 A. No.

2 Q. Do you know if after your employment ended

3 with Kiki, credit card tips that the customers left

4 were distributed to tipped employees on their payroll

5 check?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. Do you know who processed payroll for Kiki

8 On the River after your employment ended?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Did anyone employed with RJ River process

11 payroll for Kiki On the River during your employment?

12 A. Repeat the question.

13 Q. Did anyone employed with RJ River process

14 payroll for Kiki On the River during your employment?

15 A. I wouldn't know.

16 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

17 anyone employed with RJ River processed payroll for

18 Kiki On the River during your employment?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Did anyone employed with RJ River process

21 payroll for Kiki On the River after your employment

22 ended?

23 A. I don't know.

24 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

25 anyone employed with RJ River processed payroll for

Page 167

1 Kiki On the River after your employment ended?

2 A. I wouldn't know. The answer is no.

3 Q. Okay. Do you know how Kiki On the River

4 processed payroll during your employment?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do you know how Kiki On the River processed

7 the credit card tip portion of payroll during your

8 employment?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know who processed the credit card

11 tip portion of payroll for Kiki On the River during

12 your employment?

13 A. No.

14 Q. I believe you testified earlier that the

15 distribution of credit card tips at Kiki's depended

16 on percentages that were allocated and points that

17 were given to tipped employees; is that correct?

18 A. Yeah.

19 Q. And did the amount of credit card tip that

20 each tipped employee received during your employment

21 at Kiki On the River vary depending on the percentage

22 and the point that would be allocated to a particular

23 position?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Do you have any independent recollection of

Page 168

1 the credit card tip percentages that were allocated

2 during your employment to the following positions?

3 Captains.

4 A. No.

5 Q. Servers.

6 A. No.

7 Q. Bartenders.

8 A. Repeat the question again.

9 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read that back,

10 Madam Court Reporter?

11 (Requested portion read back.)

12 A. No.

13 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

14 Q. Bottle girls.

15 A. No.

16 Q. Bussers.

17 A. No.

18 Q. Hosts.

19 A. No.

20 Q. Dockmasters.

21 A. No.

22 Q. Food runners.

23 A. No.

24 Q. Barbacks.

25 A. No.

Page 169

1 Q. Do you know how Kiki On the River processes

2 payroll after your employment ended?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you know how Kiki processes credit

5 card -- strike that.

6 Do you know how Kiki processes the credit

7 card tip portion of its payroll after your

8 employment ended?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Do you know who processed the credit card

11 tip portion of Kiki's payroll after your employment

12 ended?

13 A. No, I do not.

14 Q. Do you know the process that Kiki used to

15 determine the amount of credit card tips each tipped

16 employee received after your employment ended?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Did the amount of the credit card tips --

19 strike that.

20 Do you know if the amount of the credit

21 card tips each tipped employee received after your

22 employment ended varied based on the percentage and

23 the points that would be allocated to the position?

24 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

25 A. I do not know that.

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1 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

2 Q. After your employment ended with Kiki On

3 the River, do you know the credit card tip

4 percentages that were allocated to captains?

5 A. I don't recall.

6 After?

7 Q. After.

8 A. No.

9 Q. And after your employment ended, do you

10 remember the credit card tip percentage that was

11 allocated to servers?

12 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

13 A. After, no.

14 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

15 Q. After your employment ended, do you know

16 the credit card tip percentage that was allocated to

17 bartenders?

18 A. No.

19 Q. After your employment ended, do you know

20 the credit card tip percentage that were allocated to

21 servers?

22 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

23 A. No.

24 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

25 Q. After your employment ended, do you know

Page 171

1 the credit card tip percentages that were allocated

2 to bottle girls?

3 A. No.

4 Q. After your employment ended, do you know

5 the credit card tip percentages that were allocated

6 to bussers?

7 A. No.

8 Q. After your employment ended, do you know

9 the credit card tip percentages that were allocated

10 to hosts?

11 A. No.

12 Q. After your employment ended, do you know

13 the credit card tip percentages that were allocated

14 to dockmasters?

15 A. No.

16 Q. After your employment ended, do you know

17 the credit card tip percentages that were allocated

18 to runners?

19 A. No.

20 Q. And after your employment ended, do you

21 know the credit card tip percentages that were

22 allocated to barbacks?

23 A. No, I do not.

24 Q. Did the amount of credit card tips that

25 each tipped employee received during your employment

Page 172

1 also depend on the amount of points that were

2 allocated to each tipped position?

3 A. Can you repeat that, please?

4 Q. Sure.

5 During your employment, was the amount

6 of -- during your employment -- strike that.

7 During your employment, was the amount of

8 credit card tips that a tipped employee received

9 also dependent on the points that were assigned to

10 the particular tipped position?

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. And a tipped employee's share of the credit

13 card tips would also depend on the point that was

14 assigned to the tipped employee's position?

15 A. Correct.

16 Q. So the tips a tipped employee would receive

17 from credit cards would vary depending on the points

18 that was assigned to the position?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. And would the credit card tips that an

21 employee would receive also vary depending on how

22 many hours a week the tipped employee worked?

23 A. That would be -- I don't know about that --

24 I don't know how they -- it was -- I don't know how

25 it was distributed like that.

Page 173

1 Q. Okay. Do you think it's possible that if

2 an employee worked more during a week -- strike that.

3 Do you think it's possible that if a

4 tipped employee worked more during a week, that the

5 amount of tips he or she would receive could

6 increase?

7 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

8 A. Yes, yes. It's supposed to.

9 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

10 Q. The more you work as a tipped employee, the

11 more opportunities you have to receive tips, correct?

12 A. Yeah.

13 Q. Do you have any knowledge of the -- strike

14 that.

15 Do you know -- do you know the points that

16 were assigned to the tipped employees that are part

17 of this class during your employment with Kiki On

18 the River?

19 A. I used to, but I don't recall anymore.

20 Q. Do you have any knowledge after your

21 employment ended with Kiki On the River, the points

22 that were assigned to tipped employees for credit

23 card tips?

24 A. No.

25 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Take a moment so I can make

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Page 174

1 some copies.

2 (Recess was held from 3:01 p.m. until 3:10 p.m.)

3 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 5.)

4 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

5 Q. Take a look at what we've marked as Exhibit

6 5.

7 A. Is it okay if I write on this?

8 Q. Take a look at what we've marked as Exhibit

9 5, and let me know when you're ready to answer

10 questions.

11 A. Okay.

12 Q. Have you seen what's been marked as Defense

13 Exhibit 5 prior to today?

14 A. Yes. No. Have I seen it prior?

15 Q. Prior to today.

16 A. No.

17 Q. Okay. Do you know what Defense Exhibit 5

18 is?

19 A. It says "Employee Statement of Earnings."

20 Q. So have you seen Defense Exhibit 5 prior to

21 today?

22 A. No.

23 Q. Okay. Does Defense Exhibit 5 show your

24 compensation from September 6th of 2019 to

25 January 7th, 2022, at Kiki's?

Page 175

1 A. Yes.

2 Q. Okay. And on Defense Exhibit 5, if you

3 look to the far right, it has a line where it says:

4 "Optional Tip." Do you see that?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. And then right underneath that, it says:

7 "Commission." Do you see that?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. Is it your understanding that the reference

10 to optional tips refers to the tips that you were

11 paid as a result of credit card tips that were left

12 by customers at Kiki's?

13 A. Yes.

14 Q. And underneath that, that says

15 "Commission." Is it your understanding that the

16 commissions that you were paid as reflected in

17 Defense Exhibit 5 are the percentage of the service

18 charge that Kiki imposed on customers?

19 A. Okay.

20 Q. Yes?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Did the information contained in

23 Defendant Exhibit 5 come from Kiki's POS?

24 A. I don't know where it came from.

25 Q. Do you have any knowledge of any facts that

Page 176

1 Defense Exhibit 5 came from anywhere other than

2 Kiki's POS?

3 A. No.

4 Q. Do you know what percentage was used by

5 Kiki to determine the amount of credit card tips you

6 were paid for each week from September 6th, 2019, to

7 January 7th, 2022?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Do you know what point amount was used by

10 Kiki to determine the amount of credit card tips you

11 were paid each week from September 6th, 2019, to

12 January 7th, 2022?

13 A. No, I don't.

14 Q. Do you know how Kiki determined the amount

15 of credit card tips you were paid each week from

16 September 6th, 2019, to January 7th, 2022 --

17 A. No.

18 Q. -- as reflected on Exhibit 5?

19 A. No, sir.

20 Q. Do you know --

21 MR. REISS: I'm sorry, can you read that

22 back?

23 (Requested portion read back.)

24 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

25 Q. Do you know who calculated the amount of

Page 177

1 tips you were paid each week from September 6th,

2 2019, to January 7th, 2022, as reflected in

3 Exhibit 5?

4 A. No, I don't.

5 Q. Have you seen any of the employee statement

6 of earnings that Kiki has produced for all the other

7 members of the conditional class?

8 A. No, I haven't.

9 Q. Do you know what percentage was used by

10 Kiki to determine the amount of credit card tips that

11 were paid on a weekly basis to the other members of

12 the conditional class as reflected in the employee

13 statement of earnings?

14 A. Can you repeat that, sir?

15 Q. Sure. Do you know what percentage was used

16 by Kiki to determine the amount of credit card tips

17 that were paid on a weekly basis to the other members

18 of the conditional class?

19 A. No, I don't.

20 Q. Do you know what point amount was used by

21 Kiki to determine the amount of tips that were paid

22 on a weekly basis to the other members of the

23 conditional class?

24 A. No.

25 Q. I am going to rephrase.

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Page 178

1 Do you know what percentage was used by

2 Kiki to determine the amount of tips that were paid

3 on a weekly basis to the other members of the

4 conditional class as reflected in their employee

5 statement of earnings?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Do you know what point amount was used by

8 Kiki to determine the amount of tips -- strike that.

9 Do you know what point amount was used by

10 Kiki to determine the amount of credit card tips

11 that were paid on a weekly basis to the other

12 members of the conditional class as reflected in

13 their employee statement earnings?

14 A. Can you repeat that question, please?

15 Q. No problem.

16 Do you know what point amount was used by

17 Kiki to determine the amount of credit card tips

18 that were paid on a weekly basis to the other

19 members of the conditional class as reflected in

20 their employee statement of earnings?

21 A. No, I don't have that.

22 Q. Do you know how Kiki determined the amount

23 of tips each member of the conditional class was paid

24 on a weekly basis as reflected in their employee

25 statement of earnings?

Page 179

1 A. No.

2 Q. Do you know who calculated the amount of

3 tips each member of the conditional class was paid on

4 a weekly basis as reflected in their employee

5 statement of earnings?

6 A. No.

7 Q. If you go to the last page of

8 Defense Exhibit 5, please. If you look to the bottom

9 right where it says "Pay Type." Strike that.

10 Underneath the title, "Employee Check

11 Summary."

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. To the right, it says: "Optional Tips."

14 A. Yeah.

15 Q. You see in that line it says that a summary

16 of the records reflected here from September 1, 2019,

17 to January 2, 2022, you were paid $15,095.82 in

18 optional tips? Do you see that amount?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. And you testified that you don't know the

21 percentage of the points that Kiki used to calculate

22 the weekly tip amounts; is that correct?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. And you also testified previously that you

25 don't know how or who calculated the weekly tip

Page 180

1 amounts as reflected in Defense Exhibit 5; is that

2 correct?

3 A. Right, yes.

4 Q. The 15,095.82 reflected in

5 Defense Exhibit 5 as your gross tips for that period

6 of time that came from your POS, is that the correct

7 amount of tips that you were paid for that period of

8 time?

9 A. This was in a period of two years?

10 Q. 2019. Three years.

11 MR. POLLOCK: Object to form of the last

12 question. You can answer.

13 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

14 Q. You can answer.

15 MR. REISS: Will you read back the

16 question?

17 (Requested portion read back.)

18 A. So from September 1st, 2019, to

19 January 2nd, 2022, two and a half years, 15 grand in

20 optional tips, okay.

21 The question?

22 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

23 Q. The question is: Is the $15,095.82

24 reflected in Defense Exhibit 5 on Page 14 the total

25 amount of optional tips that you were paid for the

Page 181

1 period of time reflected on the exhibit?

2 A. I don't know. That's what it says on this.

3 Q. Okay. Do you have knowledge of any facts

4 that would suggest that the $15,095.82 reflected on

5 Defense Exhibit 5 is not an accurate reflection of

6 the optional tips that you were paid for that period

7 of time?

8 A. I can't answer that. I don't know.

9 Q. So I'm asking you now: Do you have

10 knowledge of any facts that would suggest that the

11 optional tips reflected on Defense Exhibit 5 of

12 Page 14 of $15,095.82 is not the tips that you

13 received for the period of time reflected in the

14 exhibit?

15 A. Well, I can't answer that because I don't

16 have my records for those two and a half years.

17 You're giving me a paper that's -- that was

18 generated -- I don't know if this is exact, you know.

19 I can't answer those questions. I mean, I see the

20 numbers, yes, but I don't know if I'm -- you know, if

21 that's the correct number. You understand?

22 Q. And that's the first time you see --

23 today's the first time you see Defense Exhibit 5?

24 A. Yes, the first time.

25 Q. Understanding what you're telling me, but

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1 do you have knowledge of any facts that would suggest

2 that the $15,095.82 reflected on Defense Exhibit 5 is

3 inaccurate? Do you have knowledge of any facts?

4 A. No, I can't say.

5 Q. Okay. You see on top of the optional tips,

6 it says that you were paid in regular rate, right,

7 your hourly rate, $20,843.05?

8 A. Right.

9 Q. You see that?

10 A. Uh-huh.

11 Q. Is that an accurate reflection of the

12 amount of hourly rates that you were paid from

13 September 1 of 2019 to January 1, 2022, at Kiki On

14 the River?

15 A. I can't calculate that in a second.

16 Q. Do you understand that --

17 A. I don't know if it's accurate. I can't say

18 it's accurate.

19 Q. I'm not asking you if it's accurate; I'm

20 asking you whether $20,843.05 reflected on Page 14 of

21 Defense Exhibit 5 accurately reflects the amount of

22 money that you were paid in hourly rates from

23 September 1 of 2019 to September 2 of 2022? Pardon

24 me, January 2 of 2022.

25 A. I don't recall.

Page 183

1 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

2 would suggest that the $20,843.05 that are reflected

3 on Defense Exhibit 5 on Page 14 is inaccurate?

4 A. I can't confirm it's accurate or it's

5 inaccurate. I can't calculate this in a second just

6 looking at it.

7 Q. Setting aside the fact that your attorney

8 has had that record for months now, what I'm asking

9 you is: Do you have knowledge of any facts that

10 would suggest that the $20,843.05 reflected on

11 Page 14 of Defense Exhibit 5 for the period of time

12 of September 1, 2019, to January 2nd, 2022, is

13 inaccurate?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Okay. Now, underneath that you will see

16 the commission payments, that's the percentage of the

17 service charge that you were paid during September 1,

18 2019, to January 2nd, 2022; is that correct?

19 A. The question is if that's the -- what it

20 says, commission? Yes.

21 Q. Is that the percentage of the service

22 charge that you were paid during that period of time

23 at Kiki On the River?

24 A. That's what it says here.

25 Q. Okay. And does the $103,117.18 reflected

Page 184

1 on Page 14 of Defense Exhibit 5 for the period of

2 time of September 1, 2019, to January 2 of 2022

3 accurately reflect the percentage of the service

4 charge that you were paid during that period of time?

5 A. I don't recall.

6 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

7 would suggest that the $103,117.18 commission

8 reflected on Defense Exhibit 14 for the period of

9 time of September 1, 2019, to January 2 of 2022 is

10 inaccurate?

11 A. I can't say it's accurate or inaccurate.

12 Q. I'm not asking you if it's accurate now; I

13 am asking you if you have knowledge of any facts that

14 would establish that the amount reflected for the

15 commission payments on Kiki 14 is inaccurate?

16 A. No.

17 Q. Okay.

18 (Recess was held from 3:30 p.m. until 3:37 p.m.)

19 MR. POLLOCK: If it's a composite exhibit,

20 get the Bates numbers so we can identify it on

21 the record.

22 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yeah, that's the problem, I

23 don't think the -- oh, yeah, they're not

24 sequential because they're just his section.

25 MR. POLLOCK: Okay. Can we read it out?

Page 185

1 That way when going through the transcript, we

2 know exactly what we're talking about?

3 MR. VELAZQUEZ: So you're saying read each

4 page?

5 MR. POLLOCK: The Bates number on each

6 page. This is Exhibit 6. It's a composite

7 exhibit. It's comprised of Kiki Bates numbers,

8 and identify the Bates numbers since I'm not

9 being provided with a copy.

10 MR. VELAZQUEZ: It will be quicker to make

11 a copy of it. Let me take that back.

12 MR. POLLOCK: Otherwise, how do I know what

13 Exhibit 6 is comprised of?

14 MR. VELAZQUEZ: It will be part of the

15 record, but it's okay.

16 (A recess was taken from 3:38 p.m. until

17 4:02 p.m.)

18 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

19 Q. Take a look at what we've marked as

20 Exhibit 6, Mr. Collado, and let me know when you're

21 ready to answer questions.

22 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 6.)

23 A. Yeah, I'm ready.

24 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

25 Q. Have you seen the document just marked as

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1 Defense Exhibit 6 prior to today?

2 A. Yeah -- well, no.

3 Q. No?

4 A. Not prior to today, no.

5 Q. Okay. And have you seen any of the payroll

6 registers for the other conditional class members?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Okay. Does the document marked Defense

9 Exhibit 6 that's in front of you reflect your

10 compensation for the period of time of September 2019

11 through December 31 of 2019?

12 A. November 17, no.

13 Q. The date's on the upper left-hand side.

14 The first one should be September 6, 2019, the check

15 date. Last one would be December 27, 2019, check

16 date.

17 A. It must be a different page, I guess.

18 MR. POLLOCK: Here you've got check dates

19 top right, and you've got pay period -- check

20 dates on top left and pay periods on the top

21 right.

22 A. Okay, I got to 1120.

23 Q. These four pages.

24 (Recess was held from 4:06 p.m. until 4:31 p.m.)

25

Page 187

1 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

2 Q. Let the record reflect that there were

3 documents missing from Defense Exhibit 6, so we went

4 off the record and obtained the missing records and

5 completed the exhibit.

6 So, Mr. Collado, can you now take a look

7 at Defense Exhibit 6 and see if they reflect your

8 payroll records from September -- check date

9 September 6, 2019, to check date December 27, 2019?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. And the information contained on

12 Defense Exhibit 6, do you know if it comes from

13 Kiki's POS?

14 A. Yes, sir.

15 Q. Okay.

16 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 7.)

17 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

18 Q. Mr. Collado, let me show you what we've

19 marked as Defense Exhibit 7. Take a look at it. Let

20 me know when you're ready to answer questions,

21 please.

22 A. Okay. I'm ready, sir.

23 Q. Thank you. Have you seen the document

24 that's marked Defense Exhibit 7 prior to today?

25 A. No.

Page 188

1 Q. Have you seen any of the payroll registers

2 for the other conditional class members that

3 defendant has produced?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Is Defense Exhibit 7 a copy of your pay

6 reports from January 3rd, 2020 -- check date

7 January 3, 2020, to check date December 31, 2020?

8 MR. POLLOCK: Objection, form.

9 You can answer.

10 A. 7?

11 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

12 Q. Yes, Defense Exhibit 7.

13 A. Okay. Okay, 12/23 through 12/29. Oh, I'm

14 looking at the wrong --

15 Q. Look at the upper left-hand corner.

16 A. January 3rd through 12/31.

17 MR. POLLOCK: What Mr. Velazquez is asking

18 you is the first page -- check date on the first

19 page is 1/23/20, and then he's going to the last

20 page of the packet and asking you . . .

21 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

22 Q. Well, that's not what I am asking. What

23 I'm asking is whether the copy of Defense Exhibit 7

24 that you have in front of you is a copy of your pay

25 reports of Kiki On the River from January 3rd of 2020

Page 189

1 through check date December 31 of 2020. Those dates

2 are reflected on the upper left-hand corner.

3 A. Yes. Yes. The answer is yes.

4 Q. Okay, thank you.

5 And is the information contained on

6 Defense Exhibit 7, does that information come from

7 Kiki's POS?

8 A. Yes.

9 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 8.)

10 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

11 Q. Okay. I will show what you we'll mark as

12 Defense Exhibit 8. Take a look at what we've marked

13 as Defense Exhibit 8. Let me know when you're ready

14 to answer questions.

15 A. Yes. Go right ahead, sir.

16 Q. Thank you.

17 Have you seen the document that's been

18 marked has Defense Exhibit 8 prior to today?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Have you seen any of the payroll registers

21 that the Defendant has produced for the other

22 conditional class members?

23 A. What was the question, sir?

24 Q. Have you seen any of the other payroll

25 registers that Defendants have produced for the upper

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1 conditional class members?

2 A. No, I have not.

3 Q. Okay. And is Defense Exhibit 8 a copy of

4 your payroll records and registers from check date

5 January 8, 2021, to December 31, 2021?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. And is the information contained in Defense

8 Exhibit 8, does it come from Kiki's POS?

9 A. Yes, sir.

10 Q. Okay.

11 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 9.)

12 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

13 Q. Let me show you what we'll mark as Defense

14 Exhibit 9, Mr. Collado. Take a look at that and let

15 me know when you're ready to answer questions.

16 A. Thank you.

17 Q. Go right ahead, sir.

18 Have you seen the document that's marked

19 as Defense Exhibit 10 prior to today?

20 A. 9?

21 Q. No, we're on Defense Exhibit 10. Pardon

22 me, Defense Exhibit 9.

23 A. Okay.

24 Q. Have you seen the document that's marked as

25 Defense Exhibit 9 prior to today?

Page 191

1 A. No, I have not.

2 Q. Are you familiar with what Defense Exhibit

3 9 is?

4 A. Sales report.

5 Q. Okay. Have you seen a sales report from

6 Kiki's prior to today, any sales report?

7 A. No.

8 Q. And the sales report that you have in front

9 of you is Defense Exhibit 9 is for the period of time

10 from September 1, 2019, all the way through

11 December 30 of 2019?

12 A. Okay. Yes, sir.

13 Q. Okay. And does the information contained

14 in Defense Exhibit 9 come from Kiki's POS?

15 A. Yes, it appears to be.

16 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

17 would suggest that the information contained in

18 Defense Exhibit 9 does not come from Kiki's POS?

19 A. No.

20 Q. Please refer to the bottom of the first

21 page of Defense Exhibit 9 where it says "media."

22 A. Okay.

23 Q. If you look across that row, you see an

24 abbreviation that says "Emp Tips."

25 A. Yes.

Page 192

1 Q. Do you know what that abbreviation means?

2 A. Employee.

3 Q. If you go to the next page, and you go to

4 the bottom of that column, it says: Employee tips,

5 $26,443.78. Do you see where it says that?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. If you go back to the first page, look on

8 that same row next right to --

9 Well, let me ask you this, back to the

10 employee tips. Is the figure $26,443.40 reflected

11 on the second page?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Is that a reflection of the customer or

14 does that number reflect the customer -- the total

15 customer tips that were left during the week of

16 September 1 or during the period of September 1,

17 2019, through October 1, 2019?

18 MR. POLLOCK: Form.

19 A. It appears to be.

20 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

21 Q. Okay. Do you have any facts or any

22 knowledge of facts that would suggest that the

23 $26,443.78 figure reflected on the second page of

24 Defense Exhibit 9 is not employee tips that were

25 received for that period of time?

Page 193

1 A. No.

2 Q. Okay. If you look back to the first page,

3 the next column says -- it has an abbreviation of

4 "Emp Grats." Do you see that?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. And if you turn to -- well, do you know

7 what that is?

8 A. Employee gratuities.

9 Q. Okay. And if turn to the second page and

10 you go down that column, there's a total of employee

11 gratuities of $197,526.04.

12 A. Uh-huh.

13 Q. Does that number reflect the service

14 charges that were generated by the Kiki-imposed

15 charge from September 1, 2019, to October 1, 2019?

16 A. Apparently. In other words, yes. I mean,

17 that's what it says.

18 Q. Okay. Do you have knowledge of any facts

19 that would suggest that that number of $197,526.04 is

20 not the service charge?

21 A. No.

22 Q. And those abbreviations throughout the

23 balance of Defense Exhibit 9 all refer to the same

24 thing, employee tips -- or strike that.

25 All the references to the abbreviation in

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1 Defense Exhibit 9 that are under "Emp Tips" refers

2 to the tips that were left for that period of time

3 by customers for tipped employees?

4 A. Yes.

5 Q. Okay. And throughout Exhibit 9, all the

6 references, all the numbers under the abbreviation

7 "Emp Grats" refers to the service charges that were

8 imposed by Kiki on the customer?

9 A. Yes.

10 Q. For the whole Exhibit 9?

11 A. Right. That would be for a period of one

12 month.

13 Q. For the entire exhibit, for every document

14 on page -- on Exhibit 9, wherever there's an

15 abbreviation to "Emp Grats," it's referring to the

16 service charges that Kiki imposed for that period of

17 time?

18 A. That's correct.

19 Q. Okay. And the same thing applies to Emp

20 Tips. Any references to that?

21 And Defense Exhibit 9 refers to the gratu22 -- or the tips that customers left for Kiki tipped

23 employees?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Okay. All right. Let's go to the next

Page 195

1 one.

2 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 10.)

3 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

4 Q. Now we're on 10. Showing you what we've

5 marked as Defense Exhibit 10.

6 A. Okay.

7 Q. Take a look at it. Let me know when you're

8 ready to answer questions.

9 A. I'm ready.

10 Q. Have you seen the document that's marked as

11 Defense Exhibit 10 prior to today?

12 A. No.

13 Q. Is the document that's marked Defense

14 Exhibit 10 Kiki's Sales by Range Report for the

15 period starting on January 1, 2020, and ending on

16 December 28 of 2020?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Okay. Does the information contained in

19 Defense Exhibit 10, the entire exhibit, come from

20 Kiki's POS?

21 A. Yes, sir.

22 Q. You'll note on the bottom of the first page

23 there's the same abbreviations that we discussed from

24 Defense Exhibit 9. There's a reference to Emp Tips

25 and another reference to Emp Grats.

Page 196

1 A. Yes.

2 Q. Is your testimony as it relates to Defense

3 Exhibit 9 pertaining to what those two abbreviations

4 mean apply to Defense Exhibit 10 as well?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. And that testimony is that the reference to

7 employee tips throughout Defense Exhibit 10 refers to

8 the tips that customers left for Kiki's tipped

9 employees?

10 A. Correct, yes.

11 Q. And the abbreviation Emp Grats refers to

12 the service charges that Kiki imposed on customers

13 for the entire period of time reflected in Defense

14 Exhibit 10?

15 A. Right. Yes, sir.

16 Q. Okay.

17 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 11.)

18 A. Thank you.

19 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

20 Q. You're welcome.

21 Take a look at Defense Exhibit 11. Let me

22 know when you're ready to answer questions.

23 A. I'm ready.

24 Q. Let me see yours a second. Have you seen

25 the document that's marked as Defense Exhibit 11

Page 197

1 prior to today?

2 A. No.

3 Q. And is Defense Exhibit 11 Kiki's sales

4 reports for the period of time starting on

5 December 28, 2020, and going all the way through

6 December 26, 2021?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. Okay. You'll notice if you turn to Bates

9 Number 3693 on Defense Exhibit 11, please.

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. Okay. Mark that page, and we will come

12 back to it in a second.

13 If you look at Defense Exhibit 11 from

14 Bates Stamp 3601 to Bates Stamp 3692.

15 A. Okay.

16 Q. That period of time encompasses

17 December 28, 2020, through November 15, 2021; is that

18 correct?

19 So 3601, Bates Stamp 3061, Defense 11,

20 starts on December 28, 2020, and it ends on 3692 on

21 November 15, 2021.

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. Okay. Is that correct?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. So those sales by range reports are the

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1 same that you saw in Defense Exhibit 9 and 10; is

2 that correct?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. And we're referring to the sales by range

5 reports reflected between 3601 and Bates-stamped

6 3692; is that correct?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. Okay. And the references to Emp Tips and

9 Bates Stamp 3601, all the way through 3692, refers to

10 employee tips that tipped employees received directly

11 from customers, credit card tips; is that correct?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Okay. And the references to Emp Grats in

14 Defense Exhibit 11 from Bates Stamp 3601 to 3692,

15 refers to the service charges that Kiki imposed on

16 its customers?

17 A. Correct.

18 Q. Okay. Now let's go to Bates Stamp 3693 in

19 Defense Exhibit 11, please.

20 Actually, before we do that, is the

21 information contained in Defense Exhibit 11 from

22 Bates Stamp 3601 to Bates Stamp 3692, does that come

23 from Kiki's POS?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Okay. Now let's go to Bates Stamp 3693,

Page 199

1 Defense Exhibit 11.

2 MR. REISS: What Bates stamp number are you

3 looking at?

4 MR. VELAZQUEZ: 3693.

5 MR. REISS: Okay, thank you.

6 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

7 Q. If you can look at Defense Exhibit 11,

8 Bates Stamp 11, Bates Stamp 3693, all the way to

9 3704. Let me know when you're ready to answer

10 questions on those documents.

11 A. Ready.

12 Q. Okay. Have you seen that portion of

13 Defense Exhibit 11 prior to today from Bates Stamp

14 3693 to 3704?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Is the information contained in Bates Stamp

17 3693 through 3704 in Defense Exhibit 11, does it come

18 from Kiki's POS?

19 A. Yes.

20 Q. Pardon me?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Okay. If you can refer to the top of

23 Defense -- Page 3693 in Defense Exhibit 11. You see

24 where it says "Sales Summary"?

25 A. Yes.

Page 200

1 Q. The references to tips on the top of

2 Page 3693 --

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. -- does that refer to the tips that

5 customers left for Kiki's tipped employees?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. And to the immediate left, there's a

8 reference to gratuity on Page 3693 of Defense

9 Exhibit 11. Do you see that?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. And does the reference to gratuity in

12 Defense Exhibit 11, 3693, refer to the service

13 charges that Kiki imposed on its customers?

14 A. Correct.

15 Q. Okay. And the references to tips from 3693

16 to 3704 in Defense Exhibit 11 all refer to customer

17 tips that were left for tipped employees?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. And the references to gratuity from Bates

20 Stamp 3693 to 3704 in Defense Exhibit 11 refers to

21 the service charges that Kiki imposed on its

22 customers?

23 A. Yes, sir.

24 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 12.)

25

Page 201

1 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

2 Q. Let me show you what we'll mark as

3 Defendant's Exhibit 12.

4 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Sir.

5 MR. REISS: Thank you, sir.

6 MR. VELAZQUEZ: You're welcome.

7 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

8 Q. Take a look at what we've marked as Defense

9 Exhibit 12 and let me know when you're ready to

10 answer questions.

11 A. I'm ready, sir.

12 Q. Have you seen the documents that's marked

13 as Defense Exhibit 12 prior to today?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Is Defense Exhibit 12 Kiki's sales reports

16 from the period of time starting on December 27 of

17 2021 going all the way through December 11, 2022?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. Does the information contained in Defense

20 Exhibit 12 come from Kiki's POS?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. And you'll note on the top of the first

23 page of Defense Exhibit 12 marked as 3705 there's a

24 reference to tips. Does that reference on the first

25 page of Defense Exhibit 12 reflect the tips that were

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1 received -- that were given by customers for Kiki's

2 tipped employees?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. Okay. And those reflect credit card tips;

5 is that correct?

6 A. Correct.

7 Q. All the references to tips in Kiki's sales

8 reports all refer to customer credit card tips, is

9 that correct, in all the exhibits that we've shown

10 you today?

11 A. Yes.

12 MR. POLLOCK: Object to form to the last

13 question.

14 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

15 Q. If you look to the immediate left of tips

16 on Defense Exhibit 12, it says "gratuity." Does the

17 reference to gratuity on the first page of Defense

18 Exhibit 12 refer to the service charges that Kiki

19 imposed on its customers?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. If you look at all of Defense Exhibit 12,

22 starting with Bates Stamp 3705 through 3804, all the

23 references to tips in Defense Exhibit 12 refers to

24 the tips that were left by customer for Kiki's tipped

25 employees?

Page 203

1 A. Correct.

2 Q. If you look at the reference to gratuity in

3 Defense Exhibit 12, all the references to gratuity

4 throughout Exhibit 12 from the first page, 3705, to

5 the last page, 3804, all refer to the service charges

6 that Kiki imposed on its customers?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. Do you know if Sia Hemmati had access to

9 Kiki's POS?

10 A. I don't know.

11 Q. Pardon?

12 A. I don't know.

13 Q. Do you know if Roman Jones had access to

14 Kiki's POS?

15 A. No, I do not know.

16 Q. Do you know if Aris Nanos had access to

17 Kiki's POS?

18 A. I do not know. I have never seen -- I have

19 never seen him touch a POS. I have never seen Aris

20 touch a POS, or Roman.

21 MR. REISS: He said "or Roman."

22 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

23 Q. Is your reference to Roman, Roman Jones?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. To get the record clear, you have never

Page 204

1 seen Roman Jones touch a POS?

2 A. No.

3 MR. REISS: You didn't ask him about Sia.

4 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes, I did.

5 MR. REISS: I apologize to everyone. I

6 made a mistake. First time for everything.

7 (Discussion off the record.)

8 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

9 Q. Did you ever see Vigan Krasniqi using

10 Kiki's POS?

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. And when would you see Vigan Krasniqi using

13 Kiki's POS?

14 A. I'd run the sales report at the end of the

15 night, and when we had to transfer table, or they

16 would do any type of comps, fix any errors that --

17 sometimes you enter the wrong item, and they'll fix

18 it, comp it or whatever.

19 Q. Okay. And Vigan Krasniqi was a general

20 manager at Kiki's?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Do you know how long Vigan Krasniqi was

23 employed at Kiki's?

24 A. He started right on the same time I did.

25 Q. Okay. But you don't have any recollection

Page 205

1 of how long he worked with Kiki?

2 Well, let me ask you this: Do you know if

3 Vigan Krasniqi is still employed at Kiki's?

4 A. No, he's not. He's no longer there.

5 Q. Do you know how long Vigan Krasniqi was

6 employed at Kiki's?

7 A. About four years. Around four years.

8 Q. And during the time that you -- well, did

9 you say that you actually observed Vigan Krasniqi

10 using Kiki's POS?

11 A. Yes.

12 Q. Okay. And during the times that you

13 actually observed Vigan Krasniqi using Kiki's POS,

14 did you ever see him altering information pertaining

15 to credit card tips?

16 A. No, never.

17 Q. Do you know if once information is inputted

18 into Kiki's POS, whether it can be changed?

19 A. I wouldn't -- I wouldn't -- I'm not

20 familiar with that, with that system.

21 Q. Okay. So you don't know whether

22 information inserted into Kiki's POS can be changed;

23 is that correct?

24 A. No, I don't.

25 Q. Did you ever observe anyone altering the

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1 credit card tips that were inputted into Kiki's POS?

2 A. Altering?

3 Q. Yes.

4 A. Like --

5 Q. Changing.

6 A. Yes. Say it was a customer that was not

7 happy, for example, and they didn't want to pay

8 gratuity or service charge, there was a -- the

9 manager or general manager can delete the service

10 charge to please a guest. So it's -- it's doable.

11 Q. Okay. So now I'm talking about tips here.

12 You're talking about service charge.

13 A. Oh, okay, so . . .

14 Q. My question is: Did you ever see anyone

15 from Kiki's changing the customer tips that were

16 inserted or inputted into Kiki's POS?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Do you know of anybody in the class that

19 ever witnessed anyone changing the customer tips that

20 were inserted into Kiki's POS?

21 A. No.

22 Q. Did you ever see Sia Hemmati changing the

23 tip amounts in Kiki's POS?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Did you ever see Roman Jones changing the

Page 207

1 tip amounts in Kiki's POS?

2 A. No.

3 Q. Did you ever see Aris Nanos changing the

4 tip amounts in Kiki's POS?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Did you ever see Vigan Krasniqi changing

7 the tip amounts in Kiki's POS?

8 A. No.

9 Q. Let's take a break.

10 (Recess was held from 5:17 p.m. until 5:35 p.m.)

11 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

12 Q. Identify by name and position everyone that

13 you allege retained tips as alleged in your third

14 amended complaint. Strike that.

15 Identify by name and position everyone

16 that you alleged unlawfully retained tips as claimed

17 in the third amended complaint.

18 A. In the -- Kiki On the River.

19 Q. And tell me by name every person that

20 unlawfully retained tips from Kiki On the River.

21 A. Roman Jones, Aris, and that's it.

22 Q. And Aris' name is -- last name? Nanos,

23 that's right.

24 How do you know that Roman Jones allegedly

25 unlawfully retained tips?

Page 208

1 A. It was a conversation from one of the

2 managers that there was a -- he talked about that

3 instance where when one of the owners, Lee Lyon, was

4 very upset because they were taking tips. And he

5 even said around a number they had taken, like,

6 $900,000 out of the tip pool in a certain -- in a

7 period of one year.

8 Q. And who is the person that you're

9 attributing this conversation to?

10 A. Ciro Costanzo.

11 Q. Other than Roman Jones and Aris Nanos, do

12 you claim that anybody unlawfully retained tips at

13 Kiki's?

14 A. No, no, I don't think so. Maybe

15 somebody -- they had to have access to the tips, so I

16 don't know how they did it.

17 Q. And did you hear the conversation that

18 you're attributing to Ciro Costanzo?

19 A. He was telling me directly. It wasn't

20 a . . .

21 Q. And tell me exactly what Ciro Costanzo told

22 you about Roman Jones and Aris Nanos.

23 A. I just said that -- that Lee Lyon was very

24 upset because of that situation. He didn't have

25 knowledge of it, so he was very pissed off.

Page 209

1 Q. And who is the person that you are

2 referring to?

3 A. Lee Lyon. Lee Lyon. One of the investors.

4 Q. Lee Lyon?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. During that conversation that you alleged

7 Ciro Costanzo told you, is it true that Ciro Costanzo

8 was referring to $900,000 in service charges?

9 A. No -- well, I don't know. It was tips

10 taken out of the tip pool that were not given out.

11 Q. Earlier today you testified that the term

12 tips was used interchangeably by everybody at Kiki's,

13 correct?

14 A. Right.

15 Q. People would refer to service charges as

16 tips at Kiki's, right?

17 A. In the conversation, they're not going

18 to -- it wasn't being specific on what -- if it was

19 service charges or tips. It was money missing from

20 the tips.

21 Q. So you don't know sitting here today

22 whether the $900,000 that you alleged Ciro Costanzo

23 claims is missing was tips that were left by

24 customers; is that correct?

25 A. That's correct, yes. It could have been.

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1 It could also have been service charges, you're

2 right. It could have been service charges.

3 Q. And if Ciro Costanzo testifies that the

4 reference to tips was service charge, do you have any

5 other evidence that would suggest that Roman Jones or

6 Aris Nanos took tips that were left by customers?

7 A. No.

8 Q. Do you have any other facts that would

9 support your allegation that Roman Jones and Aris

10 Nanos took tips that were left from customers?

11 A. No.

12 Q. When did this alleged conversation with

13 Ciro Costanzo occur?

14 A. I don't remember the exact date.

15 Q. Give me an approximation. Year?

16 A. I don't know, 2019 sometime.

17 Q. Do you have a month within 2019?

18 A. I can't remember.

19 Q. When Ciro Costanzo allegedly told you this,

20 how did you feel about that?

21 A. I mean, I didn't feel anything. Tell me

22 something new. So, it wasn't like -- it wasn't,

23 like, a surprise for me. You know?

24 Q. Go ahead, sorry.

25 A. It wasn't a surprise.

Page 211

1 Q. So in 2019, you already felt that Kiki was

2 unlawfully retaining credit card tips?

3 A. I don't know if it was unlawfully or

4 lawfully, but they were retaining tips.

5 Q. And you don't know whether the tips that

6 they were retaining in 2019 was service charges or

7 tips left by customers, correct?

8 A. No, I do not.

9 Q. If you would have -- we'll get back to

10 that.

11 When Ciro Costanzo allegedly told you that

12 Lee Lyon was mad about $900,000 in tips missing, did

13 you bring that to anyone's attention employed at

14 Kiki's?

15 A. No.

16 Q. Did you complain to anybody about what Ciro

17 Costanzo told you?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Were you angry about what Ciro Costanzo

20 told you?

21 A. Angry, no, but I was -- yeah, I was already

22 working there for two years, so it was something that

23 wasn't a surprise to me.

24 Q. When Ciro Costanzo allegedly told you this

25 at the time he allegedly said it, did you believe he

Page 212

1 was referring to service charges and not credit card

2 tips that were left by customers?

3 A. Well, I can't. In that -- in that -- put

4 it in that way, I can't really confirm it was -- that

5 I thought it was service charges or tips. It was

6 just taken out. Yeah, so someone had their hand in

7 the cookie jar, but it wasn't -- and now that you

8 mentioned, the way that you phrased it, I can't

9 confirm it was tips or overtips.

10 Q. So you don't know if that alleged hand in

11 the cookie jar was taking cookies out of the service

12 charge or whether that alleged hand in the cookie jar

13 was taking credit card cash tips from customers -- or

14 credit card tips from customers?

15 A. Right, that's correct.

16 Q. Okay. Other than Roman Jones and Aris

17 Nanos, is there any other evidence the class presents

18 pertaining to anybody that unlawfully retained tips

19 at Kiki?

20 A. No.

21 Q. Do you know how Roman Jones unlawfully

22 retained tips at Kiki?

23 A. No, I don't.

24 Q. Do you know how Aris Nanos unlawfully

25 retained tips unlawfully at Kiki's?

Page 213

1 A. No.

2 Q. And to be clear, every time I refer to

3 "tips," do you understand that I'm referring to money

4 that was left by customers from tipped employees,

5 correct?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. Okay. Do you know when Roman Jones

8 allegedly retained credit card tips that were left by

9 customers for tipped employees?

10 A. They were -- it must have been a year, a

11 year prior because it was a year. So this happened

12 in 2020, 2019, so it had to be a year before, so 2019

13 I guess. I'm not sure, to be honest with you. I

14 can't . . .

15 Q. And, again, you don't know whether the --

16 the only evidence you have is this alleged

17 conversation with Ciro Costanzo. And sitting here

18 today, you don't know if Ciro was referring to

19 service charges or credit card tips that were left by

20 customers?

21 A. Right.

22 Q. Okay. Are there any witnesses that can

23 testify about this alleged conversation that Ciro

24 Costanzo had with you?

25 A. Yes.

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1 Q. Who?

2 A. Peter, the bar manager. And Petra, the

3 office person.

4 Q. So it's your testimony today that Peter and

5 Petra --

6 A. They were present in the conversation.

7 Q. Were Peter and Petra participating in the

8 conversation?

9 A. They were just hearing.

10 Q. And when you say Peter and Petra were

11 hearing the conversations, was it just because they

12 were within earshot of what you and Ciro were

13 allegedly discussing?

14 A. We were next door at Garcia's having lunch.

15 Q. And Peter and Petra were sitting at the

16 table with you having lunch with Ciro?

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. And did Peter react to what Ciro said?

19 Strike that.

20 Did Peter react to what Ciro allegedly

21 said about the $900,000?

22 A. We were in shock, actually, because it was

23 a lot of money.

24 Q. So it was a lot of money, but you weren't

25 shocked?

Page 215

1 A. We were in shock.

2 Q. Oh, you were in shock.

3 A. Yeah, with our mouths open. It was a lot

4 of money.

5 Q. And what was Petra's reaction?

6 A. She didn't say anything.

7 Q. Other than Petra and Peter, can anyone else

8 testify about this alleged conversation you had with

9 Ciro Costanzo?

10 A. No.

11 Q. What did you tell Ciro when he allegedly

12 told you that there were $900,000 in tips missing?

13 A. I said, "It's crazy."

14 Q. Do you have knowledge of any facts that

15 Ciro was referring to credit card tips that are left

16 by customers when he referenced the $900,000 were

17 missing?

18 A. No. You asked me that already.

19 Q. The answer to that question right now was

20 no?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Okay. The conversation that you had

23 with -- the alleged conversation that you had with

24 Ciro regarding this $900,000, was anybody else's name

25 mentioned other than Roman Jones?

Page 216

1 A. Aris.

2 Q. That's Aris Nanos?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. And what exactly did Ciro say about Aris

5 Nanos?

6 A. He said that Lee was pissed off because

7 they had their hand in the cookie jar, and he found

8 out.

9 Q. And this conversation occurred in 2019 you

10 claim?

11 A. 2019, 2020. It could have happened a time

12 before I left or I wasn't there anymore.

13 Q. And this was -- was this conversation

14 important to you, stood out in your mind?

15 A. Well, if they -- if the owner didn't care

16 about or the investor didn't care, I mean, nothing

17 happened to these guys, so, obviously, you know,

18 there's nothing you can do. That's what I said.

19 Just want to keep paying my bills.

20 Q. And prior to that conversation with --

21 prior to that alleged conversation with Ciro, is

22 there any evidence that you have to support your

23 contention that Roman Jones or Aris unlawfully

24 retained tips?

25 A. No.

Page 217

1 Q. After that conversation that you allegedly

2 had with Ciro, is there any evidence or facts that

3 support your contention that Roman Jones or Aris

4 Nanos unlawfully retained tips?

5 A. No.

6 Q. Do you have any facts that support your

7 contention other than what you just shared with us

8 that customer credit card tips were retained by

9 Kiki's?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Identify by name and position everyone that

12 you allegedly -- strike that.

13 Identify by name and position everyone

14 that you allege unlawfully distributed tips as

15 claimed in the third amended complaint.

16 A. That unlawfully --

17 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

18 Q. -- distributed tips.

19 Who do you claim unlawfully gave out the

20 tips, distributed the tips?

21 A. I don't know who was working the tip

22 situation, so I don't know who is the -- it's Kiki On

23 the River, whoever was in charge of Kiki On the

24 River. The people that are handling the tips, right?

25 Once it goes into the -- it goes to the office.

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1 Q. So sitting here today, you can't identify a

2 single person that allegedly distributed tips

3 unlawfully at Kiki's?

4 A. No.

5 Q. Identify by name and position everybody at

6 Kiki that unlawfully received tips as claimed in your

7 third amended complaint.

8 A. Roman Jones, Aris. Their positions?

9 Q. I don't need to know Roman Jones and Aris'

10 positions.

11 Is there anybody else that you allege

12 unlawfully received tips?

13 A. That is it.

14 Q. So sitting here today, the only persons

15 that you allege unlawfully retained and distributed

16 tips were Roman Jones and Aris Nanos?

17 A. To my knowledge, yes.

18 Q. In light of the tips -- when you reviewed

19 the exhibits that we showed you earlier, in

20 particular these sales by range reports, and you

21 compare the tips reflected in the sales by range

22 reports that were left by customers for tipped

23 employees with the service charges that were imposed

24 by Kiki, is it more likely to you knowing that now,

25 that what Ciro was referring to in that conversation

Page 219

1 with you was service charges?

2 A. It could have been service charges.

3 Q. I'm asking you, though, in light of the

4 numbers reflected in those sales report that it's

5 more likely that Ciro was referring to service

6 charges in that conversation; is that correct?

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. And other than the testimony that you just

9 provided pertaining to this alleged conversation with

10 Ciro, do you have any other evidence that would

11 suggest that Roman Jones or Aris Nanos unlawfully

12 received credit card tips that were left by customers

13 at Kiki's?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Do you have any evidence or facts that

16 establish when Roman Jones and/or Aris Nanos received

17 tips unlawfully from Kiki's?

18 A. No.

19 (Recess was held from 5:59 p.m. until 6:03 p.m.)

20 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

21 Q. You provided sworn interrogatory answers in

22 this case. Do you remember that?

23 A. Yes.

24 Q. Do you understand that in your verification

25 of the interrogatory answers you said that "I've

Page 220

1 reviewed" -- quote, "I've reviewed the above answers

2 to interrogatories and verified upon penalty of

3 perjury that they're true and correct"?

4 A. Yes.

5 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 13.)

6 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

7 Q. Let me show you what we'll mark as 13.

8 Take a look at Defense Exhibit 13 and let

9 me know when you're ready to answer.

10 A. Okay.

11 Q. Okay. If you go to Page 4, is that your

12 electronic signature on Page 4 of the interrogatory

13 answers?

14 A. Yes.

15 Q. And we are on Defense 13 now, correct?

16 A. Yes.

17 Q. Now, earlier today under oath you testified

18 that only two individuals from Kiki unlawfully

19 retained or distributed tips. Do you remember that

20 testimony?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. If you look at Page 2 of your interrogatory

23 answers, you allege as follows, quote: "I believe

24 Sia Hemmati, Roman Jones, Aris, and Vigan Krasniqi

25 retained and/or improperly distributed tips."

Page 221

1 Do you see that?

2 A. Yes.

3 Q. Were you being dishonest in these

4 interrogatory answers or in today's deposition when

5 you answered the question earlier?

6 A. No.

7 Q. So let me ask you this: Was the testimony

8 that you provided today during your deposition that

9 only Roman Jones and Aris Nanos allegedly unlawfully

10 retained and/or improperly distributed tips, is that

11 testimony accurate?

12 Was that your testimony earlier today?

13 A. Yes.

14 Q. And I also asked you whether you knew of

15 anybody else that had unlawfully retained or

16 distributed tips at Kiki, and you told me no,

17 correct?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. Yet your interrogatories say that

20 Sia Hemmati and Vigan Krasniqi also retained and/or

21 improperly distributed tips.

22 Is that representation in your

23 interrogatories incorrect?

24 A. It's incorrect, yes.

25 I'm sorry, I want to clarify something.

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1 Like when you mentioned before, the conversation was

2 retaining -- it could have been service charges like

3 you said. And when you referred to tips, you're

4 talking about tips. So that conversation with Ciro

5 kind of gets clarified there because I could see it

6 going the other way.

7 Q. When you say you can see it going the other

8 way, you're saying that you believe Ciro was

9 referring to service charges when he made the

10 reference to $900,000?

11 A. Perhaps he didn't know what he was talking

12 about.

13 Q. Is it your testimony today that you believe

14 Sia Hemmati or Vigan Krasniqi took service charges

15 from Kiki? Or strike that.

16 Is it your testimony today that you

17 believe Sia Hemmati and Krasniqi improperly took

18 service charges from Kiki?

19 A. No.

20 Q. And you stay with your testimony that you

21 gave under oath here today during your deposition

22 that the only people that allegedly unlawfully

23 retained or distributed tips were Roman Jones and

24 Aris Nanos; is that correct?

25 A. Yes, from the conversation that I had with

Page 223

1 Ciro.

2 Can I say something?

3 Q. There's no question pending right now.

4 A. No? Okay.

5 Q. Let's take a look at -- let's mark this.

6 (Thereupon, marked as Exhibit 14.)

7 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

8 Q. Defense Exhibit 14. Thank you.

9 Did you discuss with Petra whether Ciro

10 was referring to service charges when you had the

11 alleged conversation with him pertaining to the

12 $900,000?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Did you discuss with Petra whether Ciro was

15 referring to service charges pertaining to the

16 alleged conversation pertaining to $900,000?

17 A. No.

18 Q. Did you discuss with anybody else other

19 than Petra, Peter, that Sia was referring to service

20 charges when he allegedly referred to the $900,000?

21 A. No.

22 Q. When did it occur to you that Ciro was

23 referring to service charges as it relates to the

24 $900,000 instead of credit card tips that were left

25 by customers? When did that first come to you?

Page 224

1 A. I didn't know -- I didn't understand that

2 it was separate. I thought it was just one -- one

3 thing. Service charges, tips. It was all -- it's

4 still one thing.

5 I understand that service charges can

6 be -- the management can do whatever they want with

7 it. I'm learning. I just learned that.

8 Q. And when did you learn that management can

9 do whatever they want with service charges?

10 A. Today.

11 Q. Okay. Is it true that if Ciro, as you now

12 acknowledge, was referring to service charges, that

13 Roman Jones and Aris Nanos did nothing that was

14 unlawful as it relates to that $900,000?

15 A. If it goes -- if that's the case, yes.

16 Q. If that's the case, they did nothing that

17 was unlawful, correct?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. Let me show you what we have marked as 14,

20 please. I only have one. This is part of this also.

21 Mr. Collado, I'm sorry, this is an exhibit to that,

22 the statement of claim. Do you have it?

23 A. I do.

24 Q. In light of the testimony that you've

25 provided today, as it relates to your confusion with

Page 225

1 service charges and tips, if you look at Page 2 of

2 your statement of claim, do you still allege that you

3 estimate Kiki owes you a hundred -- pardon me, $1,500

4 in tips for every week that you worked?

5 And, again, tips are referring to monies

6 that were left by customers for tipped employees.

7 Do you still make that allegation today?

8 A. Can I use an example? So . . .

9 Q. I want you to answer my question.

10 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Read the question back,

11 please.

12 (Requested portion read back.)

13 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

14 Q. Yes or no?

15 A. I say yes.

16 Q. And what do you base that allegation that

17 Kiki owes you $1,500 in credit card tips that were

18 left by customers for you? What do you base that

19 allegation on?

20 A. Okay. So I worked one day, one -- let's

21 say one day of the week, and I got a thousand-dollar

22 tip, and I work another five days, so I work six days

23 of the week, right? All those other days I'm getting

24 overtips as well. When my check comes, my check is

25 1200 bucks, right? So I worked the whole week, I

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1 didn't get the -- I didn't get the thousand-dollar

2 tip or even the 500 that they said they were going to

3 add to the check. So, obviously, I am owed

4 something.

5 Q. But you testified earlier today, do you

6 recall, that the tips that were left by customers for

7 tipped employees were distributed, correct? So if

8 somebody would have left you -- well, is that

9 correct?

10 MR. POLLOCK: Object to form.

11 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Can you read that question

12 back, please.

13 (Requested portion read back.)

14 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Strike that. Just strike

15 the question.

16 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

17 Q. You testified earlier today that credit

18 card tips that were left by customers for tipped

19 employees were distributed amongst several employees

20 that provided a service to that guest; is that

21 correct?

22 A. Right.

23 Q. So in your hypothetical, if you would have

24 received a $1,000 cash tip, that $1,000 -- strike

25 that.

Page 227

1 In your hypothetical, if you would have

2 received a $1,000 credit card tip, that $1,000

3 credit card tip would have been distributed based on

4 the percentages and the points to the captain, which

5 would have been you, correct?

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. To the server?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. To the busser?

10 A. Busser, yes.

11 Q. To the food runners?

12 A. Right.

13 Q. So in that hypothetical, you wouldn't have

14 received the full $1,000 tip, is that correct,

15 because it would have been distributed?

16 A. That's correct, yes.

17 Q. So in light of that, is it still your

18 position that you are owed approximately $1,500 per

19 week for every week that you worked in tips that were

20 left by customers?

21 A. No, that's not the full amount.

22 Q. Your answer to the question was no?

23 A. No.

24 Q. Okay. So in light of your testimony today,

25 is it true that based on the records that you've

Page 228

1 seen, the payroll records that are introduced as

2 exhibits, the testimony that you provided that Kiki

3 On the River paid you all the credit card tips that

4 were left by customers; is that correct?

5 Is that correct?

6 A. It's not correct.

7 Q. And what do you base that on again? Your

8 testimony today reflects the exhibits that we've

9 shown you reflecting the credit card tips that were

10 paid to you, that there's no unlawful evidence of

11 unlawful conduct that you've presented here. What do

12 you base that Kiki On the River owes you any amount

13 in credit card tips? What do you base that

14 allegation?

15 A. Let's go back to the other question. Can

16 we go back one question?

17 Q. No. Answer that question.

18 A. Repeat it, please.

19 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Read it back, Madam Court

20 Reporter.

21 (Requested portion read back.)

22 A. Well, learning that service charges are --

23 service charges, that's for the house, and the

24 additional tip is for the server, captain and support

25 staff, whatever support staff is involved. Being

Page 229

1 that, that I must say that what you said.

2 BY MR. VELAZQUEZ:

3 Q. What I said is that Kiki On the River did,

4 in fact, pay you all the credit card tips that were

5 left by customers; is that correct?

6 A. I don't know if that's correct, but, you

7 know.

8 Q. I'm not talking about service charges; I am

9 talking about discretionary credit card tips that

10 were left by customers. Is it true, based on your

11 testimony today, that record exhibits that Kiki paid

12 you all the credit card tips that were left by

13 customers; is that true?

14 A. Yes. Are we done here today?

15 Q. Give us a minute.

16 (Recess was held from 6:23 p.m. until 6:25 p.m.)

17 MR. VELAZQUEZ: We are done today, guys.

18 MR. POLLOCK: Okay.

19 (The proceedings concluded at 6:25 p.m.)

20

21

22

23

24

25

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Page 230

1

2 CERTIFICATE OF OATH

3 STATE OF FLORIDA

4 COUNTY OF MIA5

6

7 I, Gina Rodriguez, the undersigned

8 authority, certify that OCTAVIO COLLADO

9 personally appeared before me and was duly sworn

10 on the 12th day of December, 2023.

11 Signed this 18th day of December, 2023.

12

13 <%3188,Signature%>

 Gina Rodriguez, RPR, CRR

14 Notary Public, State of Florida

 My Commission # GG 952963

15 Expires: March 23, 2024

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Page 231

1

2 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER

3

4 STATE OF FLORIDA

5 COUNTY OF MIA6

7 I, GINA RODRIGUEZ, Registered

8 Professional Reporter, Certified Realtime

9 Reporter, do hereby certify that I was authorized

10 to and did stenographically report the foregoing

11 deposition of OCTAVIO COLLADO; pages 1 through

12 229; that a review of the transcript was

13 requested; and that the transcript is a true

14 record of my stenographic notes.

15 I FURTHER CERTIFY that I am not a

16 relative, employee, attorney, or counsel of any

17 of the parties, nor am I a relative or employee

18 of any of the parties' attorneys or counsel

19 connected with the action, nor am I financially

20 interested in the action.

21 Dated this 18th day of December, 2023.

22

 <%3188,Signature%>

23 GINA RODRIGUEZ, RPR, CRR

24

25

Page 232

1 Brian H. Pollock, Esquire

brian@fairlawattorney.com

2 December 18, 2023

3 Re: COLLADO v. 450 NORTH RIVER DRIVE

12/12/23 - Octavio Collado - 6341425

4

5 The above-referenced transcript is

6 available for review.

7 The witness should read the testimony to

8 verify its accuracy. If there are any changes, the

9 witness should note those with the reason on the

10 attached Errata Sheet.

11 The witness should, please, date and sign

12 the Errata Sheet and email to the deposing attorney

13 as well as to Veritext at

14 Transcripts-fl@veritext.com and copies will be

15 emailed to all ordering parties.

16 It is suggested that the completed errata

17 be returned 30 days from receipt of testimony, as

18 considered reasonable under Federal Rules*, however,

19 there is no Florida statute to this regard.

20 If the witness fails to do so, the

21 transcript may be used as if signed.

22 Yours,

23 Veritext Legal Solutions

24 *Federal Civil Procedure Rule 30(e)/Florida Civil

25 Procedure Rule 1.310(e).

Page 233

1 ERRATA SHEET

2 DO NOT WRITE ON TRANSCRIPT

 ENTER CHANGES ON THIS PAGE

3

 In Re: COLLADO v. 450 NORTH RIVER DRIVE

4 Case No.: 1:22-CV-23074-BLOOM/OTAZO-REYES

 OCTAVIO COLLADO

5 December 12, 2023

6

7 PAGE LINE CHANGE REASON

8 ____________________________________________________

9 ____________________________________________________

10 ____________________________________________________

11 ____________________________________________________

12 ____________________________________________________

13 ____________________________________________________

14 ____________________________________________________

15 ____________________________________________________

16 ____________________________________________________

17 ____________________________________________________

18 ____________________________________________________

19 ____________________________________________________

20 ____________________________________________________

21 ____________________________________________________

22 Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have

read the foregoing document and that the facts

23 stated in it are true.

24 ______ ________________________

Date OCTAVIO COLLADO

25

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