Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 06/17/2019 04:26 PM INDEX NO. 151956/2019
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 06/17/2019
INDEX NO. 151956/2019
SUPREME COURT OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
NEFAIL LJUBANOVIC and JAIRO DODIC,
on behalf of himself and the Class,
Plaintiffs,
-against-
WOLFGANG'S STEAKHOUSE INC., WOLF EASTSIDE
LLC, d/b/a WOLFGANG'S STEAKHOUSE, ZMF
RESTAURANTS LLC, d/b/a WOLFGANG'S
STEAKHOUSE AT PARK AVENUE, WOLF GOTHAM
d/b/a WOLFGANG'S STEAKHOUSE - GOTHAM
LLC,
HOTEL, WOLF ON BROADWAY LLC, d/b/a
WOLFGANG'S STEAKHOUSE, WOLF AT TRIBECA
INC., d/b/a WOLFGANG'S STEAKHOUSE TRIBECA,
PETER ZWEINER, WOLFGANG ZWEINER, ZIZO DOE
(last name unknown), ARAMO DOE (last name unknown),
JOHN DOES 1-10.,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT
DEFENDANTS'
OF MOTION TO DISMISS
THE COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO CPLR
§ 3211(a)(4) AND/OR FOR A STAY
PURSUANTTO CPLR§§3211
AND/OR 2201.
MELTZER, LIPPE, GOLDSTEIN
& BREITSTONE, LLP
Attorneys for the Defendants
190 Willis Avenue
Mineola, N.Y. 11501
(516) 747-0300
Gerald C. Waters, Jr.,Esq.
Dong Phuong V. Nguyen, Esq.
Larry R. Martinez, Esq.
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Table of Contents
Page
Table of Authorities ii
........................................................................................................................
I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT .........................................................................................1
II. RELEVANT FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE .................3
A. The Federal Action ..............................................................................................................3
B. The State Action ..................................................................................................................5
C. The Federal and State Actions Allege Similar Facts and Wage-and-
Substantively
Hour Violation Predicates....................................................................................................7
III. ARGUMENT.......................................................................................................................8
A. The Court Should Dismiss the Present Action Pursuant to CPLR §
3211(a)(4) ............................. ........................................................................8
i. There is Substantial Identity Between the Parties........................................9
ii. The Two Actions are Sufficiently Similar.................................................10
iii. The Interests of Judicial Economy, Comity and Basic Fairness
Mandate Dismissal.....................................................................................11
B. Absent Dismissal, The Court Should Stay the Present Action
Pursuant to CPLR §§ 3211(a)(4) and/or 2201 .......................................................14
i. Absent Dismissal, This Matter Should be Stayed Pending Final
Resolution of the Federal Action...............................................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................17
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases
ACE Fire Underwriters Ins. Co. v. ITT Indus.,
2006 WL 3849060 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 2006)..........................................................................
8
Asher v. Abbott Labs.,
307 A.D.2d 211 (1st Dept. 15
2003)..................................................................................
13, 14,
Bridas Intern S.A. v. Repsol S.A.,
975 N.Y.S.2d 708 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 8
2013)...........................................................................
Britt v. Int'I Bus. Servs., Inc.,
255 A.D.2d 143 (1st Dept. 14
1998)..............................................................................................
Chan v. Zoullas,
943 N.Y.S.2d 790 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 2012).........................................................................
16
Cherico, Cherico & Assocs. v. Midollo,
67 A.D.3d 622 (2d Dept. 2009)................................................................................................
11
DaSilva v. Musso,
76 N.Y.2d 436 14
(1990)...............................................................................................................
Delijanin v. Wolfgang's Steakhouse Inc.,
2019 WL 1760154 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 22, 2019).........................................................................
2, 5
H.M. Hamilton & Co. v. American Home Assur. Co.,
21 A.D.2d 500 (1st Dept. 9
1964)..............................................................................................
8,
Liker v. Grossman,
175 A.D.2d 911 (2d Dept. 1991)..............................................................................................
13
Nat'l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Jordache Enters., Inc.,
205 A.D.2d 342 (1st Dept. 8
1994)................................................................................................
OneBeacon Am. Ins. Co. v. Colgate-Palmolive Co.,
96 A.D.3d 541 (1st Dept. 14
2012)................................................................................................
Procter & Gamble Distrib. Co. v. Lloyd's Underwriters,
255 N.Y.S.2d 361 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 1964).........................................................................
16
USDOL Opinion Letter,
2018 WL 5921455 12
....................................................................................................................
..
11
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Syncora Guar. Inc. v. J.P. Morgan Sec., LLC,
110 A.D.3d 87 (1st Dept. 2013)......................................................................................
9, 10, 11
White Light Prods., Inc. v. On the Scene Prods., Inc.,
231 A.D.2d 90 (1st Dept. 1997)........................................................................................
8, 9, 11
Rules
CPLR § 901..... ..................................................................................................................
4
CPLR § 2201.........................................................................................................................
1, 3, 14
CPLR § 3211(a)(4) ................................................................................................................
passim
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 ........................................................................................
2, 3, 4
...
111
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I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Defendants, Wolfgang's Steakhouse Inc., Wolf Eastside LLC, d/b/a Wolfgang's
Steakhouse, ZMF Restaurants LLC, d/b/a Wolfgang's Steakhouse At Park Avenue, Wolf
Gotham d/b/a Wolfgang's Steakhouse - Gotham Wolf On d/b/a
LLC, Hotel, Broadway LLC,
Wolfgang's Steakhouse, Wolf At Tribeca Inc., d/b/a Wolfgang's Steakhouse Tribeca
(collectively as "the entity Defendants"), Peter Zweiner, and Wolfgang Zweiner (collectively
"Defendants"),l
with the entity Defendants, where appropriate as, submit this Memorandum of
Law in support of their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs, Nefail Ljubanovic and Jairo Dodic,
(collectively as "Plaintiffs")'s Complaint (the "State Action") pursuant to New York Civil
Practice Laws and Rules ("CPLR") § 3211(a)(4) or, in the alternative, to stay these proceedings
pursuant to CPLR §§ 3211 and/or 2201 (the "Motion").
The basis for the Motion is Plaintiffs and their counsel have an earlier-filed, substantially
identical class-and-collective action currently pending in the Southern District of New York
styled Elvir Delijanin v. Wolfgang's Steakhouse Inc., et al., Docket No. 18-cv-07854 (RA)
Action.2
(KHP) (the "Federal Action") against the same Defendants as in the State In the
Federal plaintiff alleged identical New York Labor Law wage-
Action, substantively ("NYLL")
and hour class claims, namely overtime, minimum wage, spread of hours, and wage notice and
violations.3
wage statement
Our officedoes not represent Zizo Doe, Aramo Doe, or John Does 1-10.
2
A copy of the Complaint filed in the StateAction on February 22, 2019 isannexed to the Declaration of Dong
A."
Phuong V. Nguyen, Esq. dated June 17, 2019 (the"Nguyen Decl."), as "Exhibit A copy ofthe Complaint filed
B."
in theFederal Action on August 28, 2018 is annexed to the Nguyen Decl. as "Exhibit
3
Both the Federal and StateActions are filedon behalf of a proposed class comprised of allnon-exempt tipped
employees for allfive entity Defendants. In doing so, plaintiff
alleged in both the Federal and State Actions, that
Defendants: (1) failedto provide proper tip creditnotices; (2) claimed an improper tip credit based on requiring
employees to perform non-tipped duties during more than twenty percent oftheir work hours; (3) illegallyretained
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In addition to the duplicative nature of the claims, Plaintiff also seeks the same discovery
in the State Action. Specifically, in preparation for his anticipated motion to certify a class
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("FRCP") 23, Plaintiff sought and received
class-action.4
discovery regarding the viability of a NYLL As directed by the court, the federal
defendants produced records, including payroll, time, and tip records, for allnon-exempt tipped
employees at the Midtown East Wolfgang's Steakhouse, located at 200 East 54th Street, New
York, New York 10022, for the entire six year period under the NYLL. Thus, as will be detailed
Plaintiffs'
below, State Action seeks the same relief sought in the Federal Action; asserts the
same state law causes of action alleged in the Federal Action; asserts substantively identical
factual predicates as the basis for said causes of action; will require the same discovery as that
previously sought and received in the Federal Action; and seeks to certify a substantively
identical class-action as the one sought in the Federal Action.
Moreover, Plaintiffs filed the State Action to forum shop. Plaintiffs filed the instant
action with the clear intent to avoid unfavorable rulings in the Federal Action and bypass the
United States Department of Labor's ("USDOL") recently revised position on whether an
credit"
employer can avail themselves of the "tip when tipped employees perform a certain
work" Plaintiffs' "80/20"
amount of "side (effectively eliminating claim).
gratuities;(4)failed toprovide proper wage statements to indicatetipcredits;and (5) failed to accuratelykeep track
of dailytips.See generallyExhibits A and B to Nguyen Decl.
4
In the federal matter, the court actually denied plaintiff's
motion to conditionally certifyall five named entity
defendants (same entityDefendants as inthe instantmatter) and instead granted conditionalcertificationfor justthe
Midtown East Wolfgang's Steakhouse, located at 200 East 54th Street, New York, New York 10022 ("Midtown
East") only. In doing so, the court rejected plaintiff'sargument that the entity defendants were part of a single
integrated enterprise. Specifically,the court found "there is insufficientproof at thispoint forthe Court to make
determination"
such a and "the other Wolfgang locations [referringto allentity defendants except the Midtown East
entities." WL
location] allappear to be separate corporate Delilâñiñ v. Wolfgang's Steakhouse Inc.,2019 1760154,
at *7 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 22,2019). For convenience ofthe Court, a copy of the April 22,2019 Order isattached hereto
as Exhibit C to theNguyen Decl.
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Plaintiffs and their counsel bring this duplicative action solely for the purpose of hedging
their chances to procure a favorable ruling in the event the Delijanin federal court denies their
anticipated motion to certify a class under FRCP 23. As such, the purpose of the State Action si
to undermine a potential ruling in an earlier-filed case in violation of the rules of comity.
Accordingly, Defendants respectfully request this Court dismiss the State Action in its entirety
pursuant to CPLR § 3211. Alternatively, and to the extent the State Action is not dismissed in its
entirety, Defendants respectfully request it be stayed pursuant to CPLR § 2201 until final
resolution of the Federal Action is effectuated, in the interests of judicial economy.
IL RELEVANT FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE
A. The Federal Action
On August 28, 2018, Elvir Delijanin, through his counsel, Lee Litigation Group, PLLC,
commenced a putative class-and-collective action in the Southern District of New York on
behalf of himself and all other current and former non-exempt tipped employees, including
bussers, servers, runners, bartenders, and barbacks, employed by Defendants. See Nguyen Decl.,
Exhibit B ("Federal Complaint".) Relevantly, plaintiff Delijanin alleged that individual
defendants, Peter Zweiner, Wolfgang Zweiner, Zizo Doe, and Aramo Doe, were each an
"owner" "employer"
of the entity Defendants and could be considered Delijanin's sufficient to
Defendants'
hold them liable for purported wage-and-hour violations. See id. at ¶ 8. Plaintiff
Delijanin filed the putative class action on behalf of the same putative class against the same five
entity defendants as here. See id. at ¶ 7.
In connection with same, the Federal Action alleges several causes of action. First, it
alleges a claim for minimum wage, overtime violations (including unpaid off-the-clock work),
and improper tip credit under the FLSA (including performing non-tipped activities in excess of
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twenty percent of the workday). See id. at ¶¶ 13, 26, 27, 30. More pertinently, the remaining
claims were brought pursuant to New York state law, alleging:
1. Minimum wage, overtime, spread of hours, and wage notice and wage statement
violations under the NYLL and/or the Wage Theft Prevention Act ("WTPA");
2. Unpaid off-the-clock work;
3. Failure to provide proper tip credit;
4. Failure to accurately track daily tips earned or maintain records thereof; and
5. Improper tip credit on the basis of causing tipped employees to engage in non-tipped
duties for hours exceeding 20% of the total hours worked each workweek ("80/20
claim").
See id. at ¶¶ 18, 26, 27, 30.
As of the time of this submission, the parties in the Federal Action are currently engaged
in discovery for members of the putative class of all non-exempt tipped employees from August
28, 2012 to present, including the exchange of approximately one thousand pages of
documentation thus far. See Nguyen Decl., ¶ 9. On March 18, 2019, prior to moving to certify a
class pursuant to FRCP 23 or CPLR § 901, plaintiff moved to compel class discovery, including
payroll and time records for all non-exempt tipped employees at all five entity defendants for the
62.5
entire NYLL period. Nguyen Decl., Exhibit D, ECF No. On April 8, 2019, the court denied
plaintiff's motion and instead, directed Defendants to produce records for all non-exempt tipped
employees for just the Midtown East location for the entire NYLL period, including, inter alia,
payroll records, employee handbooks, tip and pay policies, Wage Theft Protection Act notices,
signed tip allowance and tip notice forms, and documents to identify managers and owners.
6.6
Nguyen Decl., Exhibit E, ECF No. 64, p.
5
A copy of the Federal Action Docket is attachedhereto as Exhibit D to the Nguyen Decl. Entries therein are noted
__"
as "ECF No. toreference theirdocket entrynumber.
6
A copy of theApril 8, 2019 Order isattached hereto as Exhibit E to theNguyen Decl.
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On November 27, 2018, the Delijanin plaintiff moved for conditional certification in the
Federal Action. Nguyen Decl., Exhibit E, ECF No. 35. On April 22, 2019, the court issued its
decision, wherein it granted conditional certification of the Midtown East location only and
denied certification of all five entity defendants, without prejudice, on the basis "the other
entities."
Wolfgang locations all appear to be separate corporate Delijanin, 2019 WL 1760154 at
*7.7
As stated above, as of the time of this submission, the Federal Action defendants are
currently in the process of exchanging the above enumerated documents for the entire putative
class at the Midtown East location. See Nguyen Decl., ¶ 9. Moreover, plaintiff's counsel (same
counsel as in the State Action) has repeatedly represented they plan to again move to
conditionally certify all five entity defendants in addition to moving to certify the class, and have
in fact, produced at least two declarations in alleged support of same. To that end, the federal
court has directed the parties to engage in settlement discussions on a class basis.
B. The State Action
Notwithstanding the foregoing, on or about February 22, 2019, Plaintiffs, Ljubanovic and
Dodic, through their counsel, Lee Litigation Group, PLLC (same counsel as the Federal Action),
commenced this putative-class-action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of
New York on behalf of themselves and all other current and former non-exempt tipped
employees, including servers, waiters, runners, and bussers. See Nguyen Decl., Exhibit A
("State Complaint").
As in the Federal Complaint, Plaintiffs again alleged the same individual defendants,
"owner"
Peter Zweiner, Wolfgang Zweiner, Zizo Doe, and Aramo Doe, were each an of the
Plaintiffs' "employer"
entity Defendants and could be considered sufficient to hold them liable
Defendants'
for purported wage-and-hour violation. State Complaint, ¶ 8. Additionally,
See Exhibit C to Nguyen Decl.
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Plaintiffs filed the putative class action against the same five entity defendants on behalf of the
same putative class as in the Federal Action. In doing so, the state complaint even included
support"
identical exhibits "in of the complaint, including plaintiff Delijanin's paystub. S_ee State
Complaint, p. 22-37.
The identical nature of the wages claims in the Federal and State Actions are readily
apparent when directly compared in the below chart:
Claims The Federal Action The State Action
Overtime
Minimum Wage
Spread of Hours
Wage Notice
Wage Statement
Failure to provide proper tip
credit
Failure to maintain tip records
80/20 claim
27.8
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶¶ 18, 26, 27, 30 with State Complaint, ¶¶ 11, 24, 26,
8
The State Complaiñt includes allegations of discrimination and hostile work environment on behalf of Plaintiff
Ljübâñ0vic only under the New York State Human Rights Law and New York City Human Rights Law. See State
Complaiñt, ¶¶ 30-38, 47-60.
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C. The Federal and State Actions Allege Similar Facts and Wage-and-
Substantively
Hour Violation Predicates
In addition to concerning the same parties, same causes of actions, and substantively
similar claims for relief noted above, both the Federal and State Complaints alleged substantively
identical facts and asserted substantively identical predicates for certification of a class action.
For instance, the pertinent Complaints both alleged that Delijanin and Plaintiffs: (i) were
employed by Defendants as non-exempt tipped employees9; (ii) did not receive at least the
minimum wage for all hours worked 0; (iii) did not receive proper wage notices and wage
notice;¹2
statements ; (iv) were not provided proper tip (v) spent more than 20% of the total
hours worked performing "non-tipped duties"13; and (vi) failed to accurately record daily tips
eamed.14
Additionally, the Complaints also asserted substantively identical "questions of law and
Class"
fact common to the in seeking certification of a class-action, namely whether Defendants:
(i) employed the putative class members under the NYLL; (ii) employed the same "policies,
plan"
practices, programs, procedures, protocols and regarding the putative class members; (iii)
correctly utilized the proper hourly rate to compensate the putative class members; (iv) paid the
putative class members the proper NYLL minimum wage for all hours worked; (v) provided
proper notice to the putative class regarding use of a tip credit; (vi) provided proper wage
9
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶ 15; with State Complaint, ¶¶ 8, 18, 22.
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶¶ 18, 28; with State Complaint, ¶¶ 11, 27. .
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶¶ 35, 36; w_ithStateComplaint, ¶¶ 11, 26,29.
2
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶¶ 18, 30; with State Complaint, ¶¶ 11, 24.
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶¶ 18, 26; witl1StateComplaint, ¶¶ 11, 19,23.
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶¶ 18, 30; with State Complaint, ¶ 11.
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credit.is
statements; and (vii) took the proper amount of tip In sum, the State Action is brought
by essentially the same plaintiff(s), uses the exact same counsel, is alleged against the same
defendants, pursues the same causes of action, seeks certification of the same class action, and
attempts to recover the same relief (i.a, the same wages allegedly due under the same regulations
for the same work performed).
HL ARGUMENT
A. The Court Should Dismiss the Present Action Pursuant to CPLR §3211(a)(4)
The CPLR provides a party may move for judgment dismissing one or more causes of
action asserted against them on the ground that "there is another action pending between the
States."
same parties for the same cause of action in a court of any state or the United C.P.L.R. §
3211(a)(4).16
This provision "codifies the procedure by which the court considers whether, in
the interest of comity and judicial economy, it should dismiss a later-filed suit in favor of an
earlier action pending in another forum, to avoid vexatious litigation and duplication of effort,
issues."
and the attendant risk of divergent rulings on similar ACE Fire Underwriters Ins. Co. v.
ITT Indus., 2006 WL 3849060 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cnty. 2006), aff'd, 44 A.D.3d 404 (1st Dept.
2007) (citing White Light Prods., Inc. v. On the Scene Prods., Inc., 231 A.D.2d 90, 96 (1st Dept.
1997)).
"first-in-time"
The other-action-pending doctrine follows the rule. Nat'l Union Fire Ins.
Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v. Jordache Enters., Inc., 205 A.D.2d 342, 343 (1st Dept. 1994). Such rule
provides that "the court which has firsttaken jurisdiction is the one in which the matter should be
interfere."
determined and it is a violation of the rules of comity to H.M. Hamilton & Co. v.
15
Compare Federal Complaint, ¶ 23; with State Complaint, ¶ 14.
Defendants respectfully note the standardon determining a Motion to Dismiss pursuant toCPLR § 3211(a)(4) "is
conveniens,"
similarto that undertaken in applying the doctrine of forum non and thus this Court is not limitedto
matters and/or factual allegations presented solely within the operative coniplaint. Bridas Intern S.A. v. Repsol
S.A.,975 N.Y.S.2d 708, *3 (Sup. Ct.N.Y. Cnty. 2013) (emphasis in (citations
original) omitted).
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American Home Assur. Co., 21 A.D.2d 500, 506 (1st Dept. 1964). For the rule to apply, there
identity"
must be "substantial between the parties and the "relief sought must be 'the same or
same.'"
substantially the White Light Prods., 231 A.D.2d at 93-94. Here, both factors are
indisputably present.
i. There is Substantial Identity Between the Parties
Dismissal of the later-filed suit under CPLR § 3211(a)(4) requires only that there be
substantial - not complete - of the parties. Id. "The presence of additional parties . ..
identity
will not necessarily defeat a motion pursuant to CPLR § 3211(a)(4) where, as here, 'both suits
wrongs.'"
arise out of the same subject matter or series of alleged Id. Moreover, substantial
identity can be present even when there is no common defendant present. See Syncora Guar. Inc.
v. J.P. Morgan Sec.. LLC, 110 A.D.3d 87, 96 (1st Dept. 2013) (emphasis supplied). Here, there
are at least seven common defendants. See eenerally Federal and State Complaints.
As noted above, Plaintiffs in the State Action, similar to plaintiff in the Federal Action,
worked as non-exempt tipped employees and purport to bring this matter on behalf of themselves
and the putative class, as defined "all non-exempt, tipped employees, including servers, waiters,
Defendants"
runners, and bussers, who were employed by during the six years preceding the
Complaint. State Complaint, ¶ 8; Federal Complaint, ¶ 15. Plaintiffs filed the state Complaint on
February 22, 2019, see eenerally State Complaint, and thus, the NYLL period would date back to
February 22, 2013. In the Federal Action, plaintiff filed the co