A former paralegal, Jeremy Frey, has won approximately $3,500 in a default judgment against Allstate Law Firm PC. The judgment came after the company failed to respond to the action, leading to a ruling made by a federal judge.
Frey was initially entitled to roughly $1,178 for his final pay period but was not compensated by Allstate Law Firm PC. This led to Frey filing a lawsuit against Allstate in June 2022 claiming violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law. His suit went unanswered by Allstate Law and the defendants, Rick Daniel Adams and Jane Doe Adams, leading to the default judgment announced by Judge Diane J. Humetewa. The judgment documents can be consulted here.
The court’s decision was made based on a number of considerations. It used the criteria set out in Eitel v. McCool, which takes into account six factors when deciding on default judgments, including whether the defendants were properly served and if the plaintiff would be without other possible means of recovery. The court concluded that all such factors were aligned in Frey’s case. The damages rewarded to Frey was determined proportionate to the work he performed and include minimum wage damages under FLSA and state law, and also a post-judgment interest.
However, the court was unable to issue a default judgment against Jane Doe Adams due to a lack of evidence suggesting that she had been properly served.
For any further proceedings, including attorney’s fees, separate filings are necessary. Bendau Law Firm PLLC acted as legal counsel for Jeremy Frey in this case.
The case is known as Frey v. Allstate Law Firm PC, indexed as D. Ariz., No. 22-cv-01053, ruled on 8/29/23.