Opinion
12-22-2016
Leslie TRININ, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. VICTORIA CLASSICS, LTD., et al., Defendants–Respondents.
Law Offices of Roger D. Olson, New York (Roger D. Olson of counsel), for appellant. Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP, Mineola (Richard M. Howard of counsel), for respondents.
Law Offices of Roger D. Olson, New York (Roger D. Olson of counsel), for appellant.
Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP, Mineola (Richard M. Howard of counsel), for respondents.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Donna M. Mills, J.), entered April 7, 2016, awarding plaintiff judgment against defendants in the sum of $87,602.74, representing an unpaid bonus for 2007 plus interest, as well as judgment of $30,472 in liquidated damages, legal fees and reimbursable expenses, unanimously modified, on the facts, to increase the legal fees award by the amount of $10,675, and otherwise affirmed, without costs. The Clerk is directed to enter an amended judgment accordingly. Appeal from order, same court and Justice, entered March 9, 2015, which, inter alia, denied plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment with respect to unpaid bonuses for the years 2008–2013, and granted defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the claims with respect to those years, and referred the issue of reasonable attorneys' fees to a special referee, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as subsumed in the appeal from the judgment.
The terms of the parties' agreement, as determined within its four corners and disregarding extrinsic evidence, are unambiguous (Brad H. v. City of New York, 17 N.Y.3d 180, 185–186, 928 N.Y.S.2d 221, 951 N.E.2d 743 [2011] ), and only entitle plaintiff to a bonus for 2007.
The amendment to Labor Law § 198(1–a), which took effect on April 9, 2011, was not intended by the Legislature to apply retroactively and, therefore, plaintiff is only entitled to recover liquidated damages equal to 25% of the total amount of the wages found to be due (see Majewski v. Broadalbin–Perth Cent. School Dist., 91 N.Y.2d 577, 584, 673 N.Y.S.2d 966, 696 N.E.2d 978 [1998] ; see Gold v. New York Life Ins. Co., 730 F.3d 137, 143–144 [2d Cir.2013] ; Galeana v. Lemongrass on Broadway Corp., 120 F.Supp.3d 306, 317–319 [S.D.N.Y.2014] ).
The special referee correctly determined that the lodestar method of calculating the fees due to plaintiff was reasonable under the circumstances of this case (Sheridan v. Police Pension Fund, Art. 2 of City of N.Y., 76 A.D.2d 800, 801, 429 N.Y.S.2d 204 [1st Dept.1980] ; Friar v. Vanguard Holding Corp., 125 A.D.2d 444, 509 N.Y.S.2d 374 [2d Dept.1986] ; see Nager v. Teachers' Retirement Sys. of City of N.Y., 57 A.D.3d 389, 390, 869 N.Y.S.2d 492 [1st Dept.2008], lv. denied 13 N.Y.3d 702, 2009 WL 2762559 [2009] ). However, the mathematical formula was incorrectly applied, requiring that the legal award be increased by the amount of $10,675, for a total legal fees award of $19,049.
FRIEDMAN, J.P., SAXE, RICHTER, GISCHE, KAPNICK, JJ., concur.