Lax & Neville is Successful in Defending a Hedge Fund's Motion for Summary That Sought to Dismiss a Managing Director's Claims, Including for Liquidated Damages, Prejudgment Interest, and Attorneys' F

Lax & Neville represented a managing director in a dispute against Kylin Management LLC, a hedge fund, before the United Stated District Court for the Southern District wherein he alleged that the hedge fund unlawfully withheld millions of dollars of his earned compensation in violation of his employment contract, New York Labor Law (NYLL), and various other claims. In motion for summary judgment, the hedge fund sought to dismiss each of the managing director's claims on various grounds, but primarily argued that the NYLL claim should be dismissed on the ground that carried interest and performance bonuses are not "wages" under the statute. On July 31, 2019, the United Stated District Court for the Southern District denied the hedge fund's motion for summary judgment. Relying upon clear precedent in the New York Court of Appeals and Second Circuit, the Court held that "although 'incentive pay' like the disputed bonus amounts in this case 'does not constitute a wage until it is actually earned and vested,' when it is 'guaranteed under [a] formula to be a percentage of the revenues . . . generated' and 'not left to [the employer's] discretion,' it constitutes protected 'wages' under the Labor Law." (quoting Reilly v. Natwest Markets Grp., 181 F.3d 253, 264-65 (2d Cir. 1999)). The District Court allowed the managing director's claims, including for liquidated damages, prejudgment interest, and attorneys' fees under the NYLL, to proceed and ordered the parties to prepare for trial.

Courts and FINRA arbitration panels have considered the applicability of the New York Labor Law to brokers and other financial services professionals in several recent cases involving attempts by financial services firms to evade deferred compensation and bonus obligations to their former employees. Lax & Neville has extensive experience helping professionals in the financial services industry enforce their rights under the New York Labor Law in FINRA, state and federal court, and AAA and JAMS arbitrations. For a free consultation, please call (212) 696-1999.

Client Reviews
★★★★★
The Lax & Neville team were total professionals in handling our case. They've clearly had quite a bit of experience handling complex legal matters in many jurisdictions and courts. I was impressed with their professionalism coupled with persistence in arguing a very complete and well-structured case. I highly recommend their services. Anonymous
★★★★★
I am very, very happy with the outcome of my case and my experience with Lax Neville could not have been better. The entire team of attorneys and staff are real professionals, they always had time to answer my many questions about my case. I was treated with compassion and respect. I am so grateful I chose to work with Lax Neville. Anonymous
★★★★★
This is an official " thank you" for all your hard work. It really was a pleasure to have you represent me, and I enjoyed seeing you, Rush and Sandra in action. I think Lax and Neville epitomizes the phrase "quality vs quantity". I think I told you before that I spent a lot of time researching firms; in this case things worked out, I picked the best firm. I hope I never need your services in the future, but if I do I know I found the best attorneys for these types of legal issues. Anonymous
★★★★★
What transpired at the [redacted] was nothing less than a truly masterful and exceptional experience regarding your intelligence, professionalism, preparedness for my case, teamwork and erudite knowledge pertaining to Securities Law, FINRA and the SEC. The facility and ease of how the case was handled, the systematic questioning of all the witnesses to obtain the facts necessary to prove our case, the preparation of the critically conclusive information and documents, the commanding coup de gras closing argument and your tireless consideration and respect for the Panel and [redacted] was, is and will continue to epitomize my feelings and conclusion that what transpired over those long three days was nothing less than raw and unabashed brilliance. Anonymous
The New York Times
BusinessWeek
Dowjones Newswires
CNN Money
Forbes
The Wall Street Journal
Thomson Reuters
Super Lawyers
Securities Arbitration Commentator