Case Background
Enrico Deluca worked for MW International Ventures LLC, doing business as Social Mobile, from March 11, 2024, until his employment ended on August 29, 2024. Social Mobile functions as a corporate enterprise mobility provider that generates more than $500,000 in gross annual revenues and conducts commercial transactions across state lines. Robert Morcos owned and operated the business during this phase, controlling the daily operational functions of the company, managing worker pay, and directly supervising staff operations.
Cause
Deluca filed a federal lawsuit against his former employer and its owner because the company classified him as an exempt employee. He asserted that his primary job role remained limited to inside software sales, meaning he did not qualify for any executive or administrative wage exemptions under federal employment laws. Deluca claimed that the company intentionally misclassified his legal employment status to avoid its statutory obligation to pay him regular overtime compensation.
Injury
Deluca stated that he regularly logged at least 50 hours of work per week during his five-month tenure with the company. His duties required him to hit strict sales quotas and deliverables, while his supervisors kept him under close administrative oversight. His direct supervisor, Director of Strategic Partnerships Joseph Edwards, micromanaged his daily routine and required him to submit highly detailed weekly activity updates. Deluca also points out that the company tracked his schedule using a shared corporate calendar system. Because of the corporate exemption classification, the business did not pay Deluca the required time-and-a-half overtime rate for the hours he logged beyond the standard 40-hour workweek. Deluca suffered financial injury because he never received backpay for these additional hours.
Damages Sought
Deluca requested complete financial compensation from the Court to make up for the unpaid overtime wages. He also asked for an equal amount in liquidated damages, arguing that the company acted willfully and intentionally when it withheld his overtime pay. Finally, Deluca requested the recovery of all reasonable attorneys' fees, litigation costs, and applicable legal interest.
Key Arguments and Proceedings
Legal Representation
Plaintiff(s): Enrico Deluca
· Counsel for Plaintiff(s): Giselle Gutierrez, Esq. | Bayardo E. Alemán, Esq. | Patricia Ann Fors
Defendant(s): MW International Ventures LLC d/b/a Social Mobile | Robert Morcos
· Counsel for Defendant(s): Michael R. Esposito | Stephanie G. Kaplan | Frederick G. Sandstrom | Holly W. Kimmel
Key Arguments or Remarks by Counsel
Claims
The Plaintiff's legal team argued that Deluca spent his entire employment working almost exclusively from his home as a remote worker. Counsel argued that Deluca never completed outside sales calls away from his home office or the main company headquarters. The lawyers also emphasized that Deluca had zero management responsibilities, had no direct corporate reports, and supervised no staff members. Deluca lacked independent authority over critical business matters, meaning he needed management approval for everyday transactions, deal pricing structures, and sales agreements. Because his primary duties centered on basic sales production rather than administrative operations, his attorneys argued that he fell squarely under the mandatory overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Defense
The defense team denied all allegations of wrongdoing and insisted that Deluca had received every dollar of compensation he earned. The attorneys presented alternative legal defenses, arguing that the company owed no overtime because Deluca met the criteria for multiple specific statutory exemptions.
Administrative Exemption
The defense argued that Deluca received a fixed weekly salary that sat safely above the legal minimum requirement of $684 per week. They stated that his main job duties consisted of specialized office work that tied directly into the high-level management and business operations of Social Mobile and its corporate clients. Defense counsel maintained that Deluca exercised personal discretion and independent judgment regarding matters of major significance to the company.
Executive Exemption
The defense also asserted that Deluca's primary responsibility involved managing a recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise. They claimed that he regularly directed the work of two or more full-time workers. Furthermore, the defense stated that company executives gave significant weight to Deluca's personal recommendations regarding hiring, firing, promotions, and changes to employee statuses.
Highly Compensated Employee Exemption
The defense lawyers presented an additional argument stating that Deluca qualified as a highly compensated employee. They noted that his total compensation exceeded the legal threshold and that he regularly performed duties associated with executive or administrative office employees.
Hours Worked Defense
Aside from the job classification exemptions, the defense argued that even if the Court found Deluca to be a non-exempt employee, his claims still failed. The defense asserted that Deluca simply never worked more than 40 hours during any single workweek of his employment.
Jury Verdict
The trial concluded after the jury reviewed the evidence and answered the official verdict questions. The jurors agreed that Robert Morcos acted as an employer who controlled the daily business operations and employee pay structures at Social Mobile. This finding made Morcos and the company collectively responsible as Defendants under the verdict form rules.
However, the jurors focused on the core factual dispute regarding Deluca's actual working hours. The foreperson signed the verdict form on May 15, 2026, explicitly noting that Deluca failed to prove that he actually worked more than 40 hours in any given workweek. Because the jury found that Deluca never recorded any overtime hours, their deliberations ended early. The jurors did not need to evaluate the company's executive, administrative, or highly compensated exemption defenses, and they did not award any financial damages to the Plaintiff.
United States District Judge Jacqueline Becerra issued the official final judgment on May 20, 2026. The judge ruled entirely in favor of MW International Ventures LLC and Robert Morcos, ordering that Deluca receive nothing from the lawsuit. The Court closed the civil file but kept its authority to handle any post-judgment requests for legal fees or Court expenses.
Court documents are available upon request at [email protected]
