Case No. 21-CV-01463

Case Name: Erica Heckle v. Matrix Absence Management, Inc.

• Docket Number: 7:21-cv-01463-VB
• Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Filing Date: February 18, 2021
• Nature of Proceeding: Class Action Complaint (Fair Labor Standards Act & New York Labor Law wage and hour litigation)
• Filing Party: Erica Heckle (Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated)
• Defendant: Matrix Absence Management, Inc.
• Underlying Dispute: Misclassification of non-management Claims Examination Employees (e.g., Claims Examiners and Absence Management Specialists) as exempt employees, resulting in the failure to pay mandatory overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of 40 per week and the failure to provide accurate wage statements showing hours worked.

• Born: September 27, 1954 (Mt. Kisco, NY)
• Current Status: Senior U.S. District Judge (SDNY, based in White Plains, NY)
• Appointment: Nominated by President Barack Obama in January 2011 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April 2011.

Education

• B.A. – Columbia University (1976)
• J.D. – Fordham University School of Law (1980)

Career Highlights

• Served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the Southern District of New York.
• Worked in private legal practice focusing on criminal defense and civil litigation prior to joining the federal bench.
• Serves as an adjunct faculty member at Fordham University School of Law.

Case Name: Stephen Flanagan, as a Trustee of the General Building Laborers’ Local 66 Vacation Fund et al. v. The Sawcutter Associates, Inc. et al.

• • Docket Number: 2:21-cv-01463-HG-ST
  • Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • Filing Date: March 19, 2021
  • Nature of Proceeding: Verified Complaint under ERISA and the Taft-Hartley Act for collection of fringe benefit fund contributions, accounting, and injunctive relief.
  • Filing Party: Stephen Flanagan (as Trustee of various General Building Laborers’ Local 66 employee benefit funds and Business Manager of General Building Laborers’ Local Union No. 66).

• Defendants:
• Corporate Entities: The Sawcutter Associates, Inc., The Sawcutters Associates NY Corp., The Sawcutter Corp., Concrete Penetration Corp., and Crush Contracting, Inc.
• Individuals: Gerard Barsch, Bridget Barsch, Elizabeth Byrnes, and Adonai Chica-Guevara
• Underlying Dispute: Allegations that the corporate and individual defendants failed to make required fringe benefit fund contributions and dues check-offs under a collective bargaining agreement, refused to permit a financial audit of their books and records, wrongfully diverted/intermingled funds, and engaged in a “double-breasting” corporate operation to avoid benefit obligations.

• Born: 1964 (Havana, Cuba)
• Current Status: U.S. District Judge (EDNY, based in Brooklyn, NY)
• Appointment: Nominated by President Joe Biden in December 2021 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April 2022.

Education

• B.S. – Manhattan College (1985)
• J.D. – University of Pennsylvania Law School (1988)
• M.A. – City University of New York, Hunter College (1995)

Career Highlights

• Served as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the Southern District of New York.
• Partner at Dechert LLP, where he served as chair of the firm’s global litigation group, focusing on complex commercial, securities, and white-collar litigation.
• Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Case Name: Gayle v. Harry’s Nurses Registry

• Docket Number: 21-1463cv (Appellate) / District Court Docket No. 07-cv-4672
• Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (on appeal from EDNY Brooklyn)
• Filing Date: Document dated December 09, 2021 (Notice of Defective Filing for motion submitted December 08, 2021)
• Nature of Proceeding: Appeal from District Court (Appellate Notice of Defective Filing regarding a motion for permission to file a sur-reply)
• Filing Party: Appellants Harry Dorvilien and Harry’s Nurses Registry
• Defendant: Harry’s Nurses Registry (alongside Appellant Harry Dorvilien)
• Underlying Dispute: Procedural appellate non-compliance regarding supplementary motion papers submitted without a required motion for permission to file a sur-reply, proper notice of appearance, record on appeal, motion information statement, and supporting declarations.

• Born: 1948 (Paterson, NJ)
• Current Status: Senior U.S. District Judge (EDNY, based in Brooklyn, NY)
• Appointment: Nominated by President Bill Clinton in February 2000 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2000; took senior status in October 2014.

Education

• B.A. – Columbia College, Columbia University (1969)
• J.D. – Columbia Law School (1974)

Career Highlights

• Served as Chief Counsel to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from 1995 to 2000.
• Served as Chief Legal Counsel to the Queens Borough President’s Office (1986–1995) and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York (1975–1978).
• Spent over a decade in private law practice prior to his judicial service.

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