Judge Peter J. Messitte rules in favor of BGL and partner Joe Espo in cable installer wage and hour class action case.

The United States District Court for the District of Maryland has ruled in Brown, Goldstein & Levy’s favor in the settlement of a wage and hour class action case filed in October 2015. The case, filed with co-counsels Omar Melehy and Sam Smith, represented a class of cable installers who worked for a sub-sub-contractor of Comcast. These cable installers sued because they did not receive overtime pay, and in some weeks, they did not make minimum wage. Their direct employer, SFS, defaulted, so the plaintiff team pursued the contractor one level up, named CUI.

In April 2021, a judge found CUI liable, and with the consent of the parties ruled on damages from the previous submissions and summary judgment argument. Ultimately, he awarded a total of $1,950,155.65 to the class and $1,990,869 in fees and expenses, covering everything that the plaintiffs had requested. Following the judgment, CUI filed for bankruptcy. BGL hired bankruptcy counsel, mediated the case, and reached a settlement in which all class members and all counsel will be paid 100 percent of the judgments over five years.

Many BGL team members worked on this case over the last seven years, including Of Counsel Brooke Lierman and partners Jessie Weber, Kevin Docherty, and Joe Espo. Legal assistant Elizabeth Suero and Paralegal Barbara Thompkinson also provided invaluable support in keeping track of all case details and class members, answering contact questions, and proofreading case filings.