CONSTANCE M. KILLEEN vs. WESTBAN HOTEL VENTURE, LP. 69 Mass. App. Ct. 784
Aug 21, 2007OUTCOME: Employee got $3.46
In an action brought by an employee against her employer seeking damages and attorney's fees for violation of G. L. c. 149, s. 152A, as amended by St. 1983, c. 343, a statute regulating the manner in w ... hich employers distribute tips they collect on behalf of their employees, the judge erred in trebling the compensatory damages awarded to the employee under G. L. c. 149, s. 150, where such an award is not mandatory under that statute, and where the judge made no finding on the question whether the defendant's conduct was outrageous or showed a reckless indifference to the rights of others [787-788]; further, while the award of compensatory damages to the plaintiff, although modest, made the plaintiff the prevailing party in the litigation and therefore required an award of legal fees [788-790], the judge's analysis of the plaintiff's request for such fees considered with insufficient precision the relationship between the fee requested and the results achieved by litigation [790-796]; therefore, this court remanded the case for reconsideration of the issues of treble damages and the fee application.
