January 10, 2017 – Crosby & Higgins LLP Prevails at Trial in Connecticut Superior Court on Lost Wages Claim Brought on Behalf of Restaurant Investor/Employee; Recovers Statutory Double Damages
January 10, 2017
Crosby & Higgins LLP has prevailed at trial in Stamford Superior Court, Civil Division, in an action brought on behalf of its client, a restaurant investor/employee, arising out of defendants’ breach of contract and failure to pay wages pursuant to C.G.S.A. § 31-72. Plaintiff alleged, among other things, that defendants breached the parties’ agreement by failing to deliver an agreed upon and paid for twenty percent ownership interest in defendants’ business, despite plaintiff’s repeated demands, and plaintiff further alleged that defendants failed to pay wages for several years. After protracted litigation, defendants argued at trial that plaintiff was not owed wages because he was a partner and not an employee of the business, and claimed the ownership interest could not be delivered to plaintiff even though defendants received full payment. The bench trial was held before Judge William A. Mottolese, who found in favor of the plaintiff, not only recognizing and upholding plaintiff’s twenty percent interest in defendants’ business, but also awarding full judgment on plaintiff’s lost wages claim, together with statutory double damages based upon the Court’s finding of fact that the defendants acted in bad faith by failing to pay wages. The case is Miguel Delgado v. Jaime L. Lopez and J. Lopez LLC, Docket No.: FST-CV15-6025093-S. The trial ruling is also discussed in the January 23, 2017 edition of the Connecticut Law Tribune.