Stokely v. UMG Recordings, Inc.

2016 NY Slip Op 7871, 144 A.D.3d 575, 40 N.Y.S.3d 904

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: November 22, 2016
• Docket: 2282 160896/14
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Cynthia S. Kern, J.), entered January 28, 2016, which denied defendant Universal Music Publishing Inc.’s motion to dismiss the second amended complaint as against it, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motion granted. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly.

On behalf of himself and others similarly situated, plaintiff William E. Stokely, III, seeks unpaid minimum wage and overtime compensation from defendants Universal Music Publishing Inc. and UMG Recordings, Inc., which entities the complaint refers to “collectively” as “Defendant.” Plaintiff alleges that he worked as an unpaid intern for “Defendant.” In support of his allegation that defendants are single and/or joint employers, plaintiff asserts bare legal conclusions (see Ullmann v Norma Kamali, Inc., 207 AD2d 691, 692 [1st Dept 1994]). There are no factual allegations that would support a finding of joint- or single-employer liability against Universal (see e.g. Shiflett v Scores Holding Co., Inc., 601 Fed Appx 28, 30 [2d Cir 2015]; Batilo v Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home Co., Inc., 140 AD3d 637 [1st Dept 2016]).

Concur—Friedman, J.P., Saxe, Richter, Gische and Kapnick, JJ.