Facts

Plaintiff Hoa Nguyen worked for defendant Tuyen Nguyen at his restaurant, Pho Hoacali Express, which was later incorporated. Plaintiffs Sy Nguyen, David Huynh, and Sam La worked for Pho Hoacali Express II, Inc. The plaintiffs filed suit against their employers alleging they were owed overtime pay.

PLAINTIFFSÆ CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiffs claimed they worked 12 to 14 hour days and were paid a daily
rate, but were wrongfully denied overtime pay. Furthermore, the plaintiffs contended that their employer had a
practice of documenting a limited number of hours with false time cards, and paying the plaintiffs minimum
wage based on those time cards. At the end of the month, the employer reconciled the daily rate against the
paychecks and paid the balance owed to the plaintiffs. These practices, the plaintiffs alleged, violated
California overtime and minimum wage laws.

DEFENDANTSÆ CONTENTIONS:
The defendants denied that the time records were false and claimed they
accurately accounted for the hours the employees worked. The defendants claimed that the employees did not
work overtime and thus were not owed any back pay.

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiffs initially demanded $100,000, but indicated they were flexible. The defendants offered $2,000. The case was mediated on April 13, 2005 before Jonathan Brenner, Esq., but the parties could not settle.

Result

The plaintiffs were awarded $103,080 plus attorneys fees in the amount of $64,935. A final judgment and cost bill are pending.