Irizarry v. Catsimatidis

In 2004 Bobby Irizarry (plaintiff) and some current and past employees of Gristede’s Foods, Inc. (Gristede’s) sued several companies connected to the operation of the Gristede’s supermarkets (the corporate defendants) for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), such as the withholding of overtime pay. Gristede’s had at least 30 stores and around 1,700 employees in New York City. Irizarry also sued three individual company leaders, including CEO John Catsimatidis (defendant). There was no indication that Catsimatidis was responsible for the FLSA violations. A district court granted summary judgment for Irizarry and the certified class of plaintiffs and awarded them liquidated damages, to be calculated at later hearings. After the corporate defendants defaulted on their payments pursuant to a settlement agreement, Irizarry filed a motion for partial summary judgment seeking to hold Catsimatidis individually liable as an employer. A district court ruled in favor of Irizarry, holding Catsimatidis jointly and severally liable with the corporate defendants. The district court found that Catsimatidis could be regarded as an employer because he hired managers, signed paychecks, had authority to sell stores, and managed the daily operation of Gristede’s. Catsimatidis took a very active role in controlling the Gristede’s enterprise. In short, Catsimatidis had the type of operational control over the company that enabled him to be considered an employer under the FLSA. Catsimatidis appealed.