IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA

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1 Filing # E-Filed 11/10/ :23:36 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA CRYSTAL KENNY on behalf of herself individually and all others similarly situated, CASE NO.: Plaintiffs, COMPLEX BUSINESS LITIGATION vs. CLASS REPRESENTATION STAR S WORLD CLASS MEN S CLUB, LLC; WILAN CORPORATION d/b/a STAR S WORLD CLASS MEN S CLUB; CAROL A. URANICK, [The Florida Constitution, Article X, RHONDA R. URANICK, 24; The Florida Minimum Wage Act, TOREN J. VEIGLE, and Rule of the Florida Rules of Civil JAMES VEIGLE, Procedure] Defendants. / CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT Plaintiff Crystal Kenny ( Plaintiff ) brings this class action complaint on behalf of herself individually and others similarly situated to recover unpaid minimum wages and other damages under Florida law from Defendants Star s World Class Men s Club, LLC; Wilan Corporation d/b/a Star s World Class Men s Club, Carol A. Uranick, Rhonda R. Uranick, Toren J. Veigle and James Veigle (collectively, Defendants ).

2 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Article X, Section 24(a) of the Florida Constitution sets forth Florida s minimum wage law. It is the public policy of the State of Florida as set forth in the Florida Constitution that [a]ll working Floridians are entitled to be paid a minimum wage that is sufficient to provide a decent and healthy life for them and their families, that protects their employers from unfair low-wage competition, and that does not force them to rely on taxpayer-funded public services in order to avoid economic hardship. Id. To achieve this goal, the Florida Constitution requires employers to pay its employees wages that are no less than the minimum wage for all hours worked. Id. at 24(c). 2. Under Section 203(m) of the FLSA, and therewith Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, an employer may use a portion of its tipped employees earned tips (not to exceed $3.02 per hour) to meet its minimum wage obligations ( tip credit ) if (1) it provides its tipped employees with notice of the tip credit provisions; and (2) tipped employees are permitted to retain all tips they receive with exception of a valid tip pool among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips. See Fla. Const., Art. X, 24(c); 29 U.S.C. 203(m). If an employer fails to meet either requirement, the employer may not use the tip credit and must directly pay its employees the full minimum wage for all hours worked. 2

3 3. Moreover, pursuant to Article X, Section 24(e) of the Florida Constitution, if employees pool or share tips with employees and others who do not customarily and regularly receive tips, they are entitled to seek other legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to remedy the violation, including compensatory damages from the employer for the tips that were improperly taken and/or shared with employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips. 4. The term Dancers as used herein refers to employees of Defendants who work or worked as exotic Dancers at Star s World Class Men s Club, who have been paid less than minimum wage, and who paid a portion of their tips to other employees. 5. Defendants have not allowed their Dancers to retain all of their tips and have required them to share tips with others, including employees who do not regularly and customarily receive tips. In addition, Defendants required their Dancers to share their tips even though Defendants did not provide their Dancers with notice of the tip credit provisions. Moreover, though the maximum tip credit an employer can take under Florida law is $3.02 per hour, Defendants failed to pay their Dancers any wages. 6. Pursuant to Rule of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff brings this class action on behalf of herself individually and all similarly situated persons employed by Defendants as Dancers at Defendants nightclub 3

4 Star s World Class Men s Club located at 5581 S. Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL during the Relevant Liability Period. Plaintiff seeks on behalf of herself and other similarly situated Dancers unpaid minimum wages of which they were deprived, an equal amount of liquidated damages, compensatory damages in the amount of the portions of tips that Dancers paid to other employees and to management, reasonable attorneys fees and costs, and all other relief the Court deems appropriate. II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 7. Jurisdiction is proper in this Court as the case raises claims under the Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 24, and the amount in controversy exceeds $15, Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to Florida Statutes, Section , because the Named Plaintiff performed work for Defendants in Orange County, Florida which is within the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court and it is the place where the cause of action occurred. 9. Pursuant to Florida Statutes, Section (6)(a) ( FMWA ), prior to bringing any claim for unpaid minimum wages pursuant to this section, the person aggrieved shall notify the employer alleged to have violated this section, in writing, of an intent to initiate such an action. Plaintiff Kenny served notice on Defendants Star s World Class Men s Club, LLC and its officer Toren Veigle and 4

5 any other joint employers notifying them of her intent to file this class action on September 25, Florida Statute, Section (6)(b) states, The employer shall have 15 calendar days after receipt of the notice to pay the total amount of unpaid wages or otherwise resolve the claim to the satisfaction of the person aggrieved. The statute of limitations for bringing an action pursuant to this section shall be tolled during this 15-day period. The 15-day period expired on October 10, The parties have been unable to resolve the alleged claims. Accordingly, the Relevant Liability Period for the claims at issue in this case begins on October 26, III. PARTIES 10. Plaintiff Crystal Kenny ( Kenny ) is an adult resident of Orlando, Florida. Kenny was an employee employed by the Defendants within the meaning of the Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, which adopts the FLSA s definition of employee. Kenny worked as a Dancer at Star s World Class Men s Club from approximately January 2015 until her termination in October Kenny was not paid any wages by Star s World Class Men s Club, was misclassified by Defendants as an independent contractor, was required to pay Star s World Class Men s Club a fee per shift in order to work, and was required to 1 See Exh. 1. 5

6 share tips with other employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips. In addition, Defendants retained a portion of Kenny s gratuities. 11. Defendants Star s World Class Men s Club, LLC, Wilan Corporation d/b/a Star s World Class Men s Club, Carol A. Uranick, Rhonda R. Uranick, Toren J. Veigle, and James Veigle employed Plaintiff within the meaning of the Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, which adopts the FLSA s definition of employer. 12. Defendants have jointly owned or operated Star s World Class Men s Club during the Relevant Liability Period. 13. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have set policies and working conditions for Dancers for matters related to their pay, tipping practices, job duties, schedules, appearance, grooming, hiring, firing, rules of conduct and discipline. 14. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants Carol A. Uranick, Rhonda R. Uranick, Toren J. Veigle, and James Veigle have been directly or indirectly responsible for the day-to-day management and/or operations of Star s World Class Men s Club and have been directly or indirectly responsible for setting the pay policies and practices and wages for all employees, including Dancers. 6

7 15. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have been an enterprise engaged in commerce or the production of goods for commerce within the meaning of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. 203(s). 16. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have employed two or more persons, including Plaintiff, engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or has had employees handling, selling or otherwise working on goods or materials that have been moved in or produced for commerce by any person, as defined in 203(s)(1)(A)(i). 17. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have achieved annual gross sales made or business done in excess of $500, in accordance with 203(s)(1)(A)(ii). IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS 18. During the Relevant Liability Period, Plaintiff Kenny worked for Defendants at Star s World Class Men s Club as a Dancer. 19. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have failed to pay Plaintiff Kenny and other Dancers similarly situated any wages, much less the Florida minimum wage, and have required that they share their tips with other employees (including the bouncers, DJ, house mom and bartenders) and pay a house fee to management for every shift they worked. All Dancers at Star s World Class Men s Club have been compensated in this manner. In addition, Dancers 7

8 were required to accept Stars/Doll House dollars. When Plaintiff Kenny and other Dancers redeemed Star/Doll House dollars they received, Defendants retained a percentage of the value of the Stars/Doll House dollars. 20. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants misclassified Plaintiff Kenny and other Dancers as independent contractors. 21. Despite classifying them as independent contractors, Defendants exercised a significant amount of control over Plaintiff Kenny and the other Dancers, including over their hiring, firing, work schedules, tip practices, grooming, appearance, and rules of conduct. Though Plaintiff Kenny and the other Dancers services are an integral part of Defendants business, little skill on the part of Plaintiff and the other Dancers is required to perform these services. Moreover, Defendants opportunities for profit and risk of loss, and investments, far exceeded that of Plaintiff Kenny and the other Dancers. 22. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have willfully engaged in practices that denied Plaintiff Kenny and other Dancers at Star s World Class Men s Club minimum wages under Florida law. 23. Because during the Relevant Liability Period other Dancers at Star s World Class Men s Club have been subjected to the same wrongful pay practices and policies, described herein, Plaintiff Kenny seeks to bring this action as a class action. 8

9 V. CLASS REPRESENTATION ALLEGATIONS 24. Pursuant to Rule of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, the Named Plaintiff seeks certification for the following putative class she seeks to represent: All persons who have worked at Star s World Class Men s Club as Dancers during the Relevant Liability Period and who have not been paid direct wages of at least the Florida Minimum Wage. 25. This action is properly maintainable as a class action pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.220(a) and (b)(3). 26. Numerosity: This action satisfies numerosity. The class defined in Paragraph 24 is sufficiently numerous that separate joinder of each member is impracticable as the class will be comprised of more than 40 absent class members. 27. Commonality: The Named Plaintiffs claims raise questions of law and fact common to each member of the class, which include, but are not limited to: a. whether Defendants failed to pay Dancers a direct wage at least equal to Florida s minimum wage; b. whether Dancers at Star s World Class Men s Club were misclassified as independent contractors; c. whether Dancers at Star s World Class Men s Club were required to share a portion of their tips with other employees, 9

10 including employees who are not customarily and regularly tipped employees, and with management; d. whether Defendants provided Dancers with notice of the tip credit provisions in accordance with Article X, Section 24(c) of the Florida Constitution; e. whether Defendants retained a portion of Dancers gratuities; and f. whether Defendants conduct is in willful violation of Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution. 28. Typicality: The claims of the Named Plaintiff is typical of the claims of the class members because the representative Plaintiff Kenny, like all members of the class, worked as a Dancer at Star s World Class Men s Club, was denied the Florida minimum wage due to Defendants misclassification of Dancers as independent contractors, and was required to share tips with other employees and with management. 29. Adequacy: The Named Plaintiff Kenny will vigorously pursue the claims alleged herein on behalf of herself individually and other similarly situated Dancers. The Named Plaintiff Kenny has no adverse interests to the proposed absent class members because she asserts the same claims under the same provisions of the Florida Constitution and seeks the same relief as would the absent 10

11 class members if each were to bring a similar action individually. The Named Plaintiff Kenny will adequately protect and represent the interests of each absent class member. Counsel who brings this action for the Named Plaintiff Kenny and the proposed class are experienced in class action practice and procedure pursuant to Rule of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. 30. Predominance: Pursuant to Rule 1.220(b)(3), class certification is appropriate because the Florida minimum wage claims alleged on behalf of the class predominate over any question of law or fact affecting only individual members of the class. The predominant questions of law or fact are clear, precise, well-defined, and applicable to the Named Plaintiff Kenny as well as every absent member of the proposed class. 31. Superiority: Class representation is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, the following: (1) the case challenges the policy of a large employer and many employees may be reluctant to bring claims individually for fear of retaliation; (2) some class members may have only worked for Defendants for a short period of time and their individual damages would not be substantial enough to be worth the effort of bringing individual claims; (3) class members do not have the resources to bring their claims individually; and (4) it would be an inefficient use of scarce judicial resources to require each employee 11

12 affected by the practices challenged herein to bring his or her own individual claim. COUNT I FAILURE TO PAY MINIMUM WAGE IN VIOLATION OF ARTICLE X, SECTION 24 OF THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION 32. During the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have willfully violated Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution by failing to pay Dancers at Star s World Class Men s Club the minimum wage required by Florida law due to Defendants misclassification of Dancers as independent contractors and by requiring that they share their tips with employees who do not customarily and regularly receive tips and with management. This claim is brought on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals pursuant to Rule of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff Kenny requests that this Court enter the following relief: a. Certification of this case as a class action pursuant to Fla. R. Civ. P (a) and (b)(3); b. Designation of Named Plaintiff Kenny as representative of the class and Plaintiff s counsel as Class Counsel; 12

13 c. A finding that, during the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have violated Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution by failing to pay Plaintiff Kenny and members of the class the minimum wage as required by Florida law; d. A finding that, during the Relevant Liability Period, Defendants have acted willfully in violating Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution by failing to pay Plaintiff Kenny and members of the class the minimum wage required by Florida law; e. A finding that the statute of limitations under Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution for Plaintiff Kenny and members of the class is five years because of the Defendant s willful violation of Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution; f. An award to the Plaintiff Kenny and members of the class of unpaid minimum wages during the Relevant Liability Period under Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution; g. An award to the Plaintiff Kenny and members of the class of liquidated damages equal to the unpaid minimum wages under the Article X, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution or, if liquidated damages are not awarded, then prejudgment interest; 13

14 h. An award to the Plaintiff Kenny and members of the class of compensatory damages in the amount of the portions of tips that were paid out from Dancers to other employees and to management, and for retained gratuities; i. An award to the Plaintiff Kenny and members of the class of reasonable attorneys fees and costs; and j. An award of such other and further relief as this Court may deem appropriate. COUNT II FLORIDA MINIM WAGE ACT RETALIATION (as to Plaintiff Kenny) 33. Plaintiff Kenny re-alleges Paragraphs 1-22 as if fully stated herein. 34. On September 25, 2015, Kenny served her pre-suit letter pursuant to the Florida Minimum Wage Act, Florida Statutes, Section (6)(a). The letter asserted her rights under the FMWA and alleged that she was entitled to receive minimum wage for each and every hour worked because she had been misclassified as an independent contractor. 35. On the same day, Kenny signed a declaration 2 that was filed in a related case, Tapia v. Doll House, Inc., et al., Case No.: 2015-CA-3222-O, pending in the Complex Business Litigation Court for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in and for 2 See Exh

15 Orange County, Florida. Kenny s declaration supported the FMWA claim alleged in that matter and asserted her entitlement to similar relief, stating that [i]n addition to being a class member in the lawsuit brought by Ninoska Tapia, if the Court will allow me to, I would like to serve as an additional class representative to help seek relief for other dancers who worked at Doll House. 36. On September 29, 2015, Kenny arrived at Star s and prepared to perform. However, Defendants stopped Kenny from performing. James Mulrenin, the general manager of Star s World Class Men s Club and its sister club Doll House, sent Plaintiff Kenny home advising her that she needed to take a break. 37. Kenny had never been denied the opportunity to dance at Star s World Class Men s Club prior to September 29, 2015, and had not had any performance issues while performing at Star s World Class Men s Club that would have justified her termination. 38. On October 28, 2015, Kenny attempted to return to work after her required break. Defendants again stopped Kenny from performing, and informed Kenny that she was not needed. Kenny left the premises after being told that she was not needed. 39. It is upon information and belief that Kenny was not allowed to perform, and was subsequently terminated from working at Star s World Class 15

16 Men s Club because she asserted her rights under the Florida Minimum Wage Act and Article X, 24 of the Florida Constitution. 40. The above described actions of Defendants constitute a violation of the Florida Minimum Wage Act, Florida Statute (5). 41. Defendants acted in willful violation of the Florida Minimum Wage Act, Florida Statute (5) and Article X, 24 of the Florida Constitution by retaliating against Kenny for asserting her statutorily protected rights. 42. As a result of all the retaliatory actions of Defendants, Kenny has suffered damages and will continue to suffer damages, including but not limited to lost wages and emotional distress. As a result of Defendants unlawful acts against Kenny, Plaintiff has and will continue to incur attorney's fees which are recoverable under Florida Statutes, (6). PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff Crystal Kenny requests that this Court enter the following relief: a. A finding that Defendants have violated the Florida Minimum Wage Act, Florida Statute (5); b. A finding that Defendants have acted willfully in violating Florida Statute (5); 16

17 c. An award to Plaintiff Kenny of lost back wages from September 29, 2015 until the time of trial; d. An award to the Plaintiff Kenny of liquidated damages equal to the lost back wages if liquidated damages are not awarded, then prejudgment interest; e. An award to Plaintiff Kenny of reinstatement, or in the alternative, an award of front pay; f. An award to the Plaintiff Kenny of compensatory damages for emotional pain and suffering; g. An award to the Plaintiff Kenny of reasonable attorneys fees and costs; h. An award of injunctive relief to allow Plaintiff Kenny to return to work and prevent further retaliation against herself and other Dancers for participation in this lawsuit or in a related case, Tapia v. Doll House, Inc., et al., Case No.: 2015-CA-3222-O; and i. An award of such other and further relief as this Court may deem appropriate. 17

18 Dated: November 10, 2015 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Tamra Givens Sam J. Smith Florida Bar No Tamra Givens Florida Bar No Rachael L. Wood Florida Bar No BURR & SMITH, LLP 111 2nd Ave. N.E., Suite 1100 St. Petersburg, FL (813) Peter J. Bober Florida Bar No Samara Bober Florida Bar No BOBER & BOBER, P.A Tyler Street Hollywood, FL (954) Counsel for the Plaintiff

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