FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Adi Amit, Esq., partner at preeminent law firm Lubell Rosen, recently obtained a win on summary judgment on all issues in favor of his clients, a local window installation business and its owners, who were also named as defendants, and against a former employee who claimed to have been owed overtime pay. The court entered final judgment in the defendants' favor without the need for trial.
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Amit argued that the plaintiff could not sustain his overtime lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 because, as a window installer, he did not engage individually in interstate commerce, and because the defendants were also not subject to the FLSA under the "enterprise coverage" theory.
The plaintiff was represented by J.H. Zidell, P.A. and J.H. Zidell, Esq. of Miami Beach —the most active plaintiffs' overtime and minimum wage law firm in South Florida, which files dozens of similar cases against local businesses in South Florida each year. The case number was 0:15-cv-20094-DPG, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The plaintiff alleged that the entity defendants, Window Mart, Inc. and WM International Group, LLC, and their owners, Liliana and Luis A. Morales, had failed to pay him properly for his alleged overtime during his time of employment from Aug. 10, 2013 through Dec. 19, 2014. Amit and his clients proved that the plaintiff's work did not involve any interstate commerce because he only assembled and installed windows locally in Miami-Dade County, and that the entity defendants did not gross more than $500,000 per year in each of 2013 and 2014 – the years the plaintiff alleged to have worked for the defendants. Consequently, the defendants were not subject to the FLSA for those years as a matter of law and they prevailed on all issues.
Amit focuses his practice on employment defense litigation, representing small- to medium-sized businesses and their owners across Florida, especially in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. This year alone, Amit has obtained several summary judgments in favor of his clients in lawsuits brought by J.H. Zidell, P.A. He also helps clients in managing their employee-related needs and mitigating future possible liability. Amit has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyers® Rising Star, editions 2010–2012 and 2014–2016, representing the top 2.5 percent of up-and-coming lawyers in the state of Florida.
"The facts in the case were largely clear to us from the outset, but had to be shown through depositions and documentary evidence. Unfortunately, this was another example of how former employees and their attorneys abuse the overtime/minimum wage laws against small, family-owned businesses in an attempt to force those businesses to settle, even when the case was entirely without merits. I am satisfied that the judge agreed with us, without the need to go to trial that these defendants did nothing wrong," said Amit. "Mr. and Mrs. Morales can now continue to focus on trying to grow their business; I will try to help other small business owners in South Florida facing similar attacks," added Amit.
"In 2015, nearly one in every seven new FLSA cases nationwide was filed in South Florida. Combined with the fact that Florida's Southern District had more new FLSA complaints filed — 1,289 cases — than anywhere else in the U.S., it is critical for defendants to have an experienced and dedicated lawyer such as Mr. Amit defend their case – he has done that successfully in many cases," said Mark L. Rosen, Esq., partner at Lubell Rosen.
About Lubell Rosen
Lubell Rosen is a law firm dedicated to providing full service representation as well as defending and protecting entrepreneurs and business owners, physicians, healthcare professionals and businesses in the healthcare industry. The firm has been named a U.S. Top Ranked Law Firm by FORTUNE Money Magazine. Only the finest attorneys are invited to join the practice. Lubell Rosen's headquarters are located at 200 S. Andrews Ave., Suite 900, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. To reach Lubell Rosen's headquarters, call 954-880-9500. The firm also has offices in Coral Gables, Florida; Syosset, New York; Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.lubellrosen.com.
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