Background

A Brooklyn construction joint venture and its sureties faced a claim for over $1 million for underpayment of wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Davis-Bacon Act and the New York Labor Law. The plaintiffs claimed to have worked for the joint venture on a series of projects for the New York City Housing Authority.

The Challenge

As the workers elected to bring suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. We were retained to vigorously defend the joint venture and discovery revealed a lack of documentary evidence on both sides. Sympathies lay with the workers who claimed to be underpaid.

The Solution

Evaluating the then-present state of the law, we determined to make a motion for summary judgment on the basis that the workers had no private right of action under Federal law. The motion was granted by the District Court and went up on appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that decision.

Result

With the dismissal of the largest portion of the case – prevailing wages – we proceeded to trial. We successfully limited the jury verdict for overtime to less than $50,000.00.