Quiles v. Parent

by
Defendant Arthur Parent, Jr. appealed the amended judgment entered in favor of plaintiff Amanda Quiles on her individual claim for wrongful employment termination in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. In addition to the damages awarded by the jury, the amended judgment awarded Quiles $689,310.04 in attorney fees and $50,591.69 in costs of litigation. Parent challenged the attorney fees and costs awards of the amended judgment only, arguing the trial court erred by awarding costs that were not statutorily authorized and by awarding attorney fees and costs that were jointly incurred by Quiles with her coplaintiffs for whom litigation remained pending. He also argued the trial court otherwise abused its discretion by awarding attorney fees and costs that were unrelated and unnecessary to Quiles’s successful FLSA claim. The Court of Appeal affirmed, finding that in a case of first impression, federal law applied to the determination of what type of costs are recoverable by a prevailing party in an FLSA action filed in state court. The Court rejected Parent’s argument that the trial court erred by awarding Quiles mediation costs because the parties had contractually agreed to mediate the matter and divide the costs between them. View "Quiles v. Parent" on Justia Law