The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Lynch Carpenter’s clients and upheld a jury award of more than $4.5 million to a class of dancers who worked for the Penthouse Club in Philadelphia.
The case went to jury trial in March of 2018, and the jury’s award was then appealed by the Penthouse Club. Jamisen Etzel of Lynch Carpenter briefed the appeal and presented oral argument in front of the Third Circuit in Philadelphia on April 17, 2019.
The Third Circuit issued its opinion on August 30, 2019, affirming “across the board” the jury’s $4.5 million verdict for unpaid minimum wages and unjust enrichment under Pennsylvania law. The court also confirmed the district judge’s decision in June 2014 that the dancers were in fact employees of the Penthouse Club and subject to the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act.
Jamisen Etzel, a graduate of Duquesne University (magna cum laude 2008) and New York University School of Law (J.D. in 2011), represented the class of dancers throughout the pretrial and trial phases of the case, along with Lynch Carpenter Founding Partner, Gary Lynch, Esq., and Co-Counsel Gerald D. Wells, III of Connolly Wells & Gray.
Since joining Lynch Carpenter LLP in 2012, Mr. Etzel has argued in the Third, Fourth, and Eleventh Circuits, and assisted on briefs in the Second and Ninth Circuits and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. His appellate work has yielded reported decisions favorable to his clients, including on several matters of first impression. This is his fourth federal appellate victory on behalf of nightclub dancers. The previous cases are: Mickles v. Country Club, Inc., 887 F.3d 1270 (11th Cir. 2018), DeGidio v. Crazy Horse Saloon and Restaurant, Inc., 880 F.3d 135 (4th Cir. 2018), and Herzfeld v. 1416 Chancellor, Inc., 666 F. App’x 124 (3d Cir. 2016).
In 2019, Mr. Etzel was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers.