MWWPR Group Sued - Lawsuit Against MWW PR Vs. Byte Dept. Inc.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK: PART __
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BYTE DEPT. INC.,
Plaintiff,
– against –
MWW GROUP LLC d/b/a MWW PR,
Defendant.
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Index No. /2016
VERIFIED COMPLAINT
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Plaintiff Byte Dept. Inc. (“BDI”), by its attorney The Law Office of Robert S.
Landy PLLC, asserts the following for its Verified Complaint, upon knowledge as to its own
actions, and otherwise on information and belief:
Parties
1. Plaintiff BDI is a New York-based software development consultancy
firm that partners with brands to deliver effective software for mobile and web in a variety of
industries including entertainment, education, digital publishing and market research. Among
other things, BDI provides training services and curriculum development relating to
programming and application design.
2. BDI’s principal place of business is located in New York County.
3. According to its website, defendant MWW Group LLC (d/b/a MWW PR)
(“MWW”) is a public relations company headquartered in East Rutherford, NJ with seven
additional locations, including an office on Park Avenue South in Manhattan (New York
County).
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 03/22/2016 05:56 PM INDEX NO. 651550/2016
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 2 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/22/2016
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Jurisdiction and Venue
4. Venue is proper in this Court because a substantial part of the events or
omissions giving rise to the claims herein occurred in New York County, the defendant is subject
to personal jurisdiction in New York County and plaintiff BDI’s principal place of business is
located in New York County.
5. This Court has jurisdiction over the defendant subject to CPLR §§ 301 and
302(a). Defendant transacts business within and maintains an office in the State, has committed
tortious acts within the State and/or has committed tortious acts outside the State that have
caused injuries to persons and property within the State.
6. In addition, in connection with the written agreement at issue in this
action, both parties consented to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located
in New York County.
Allegations Common to All Claims
Background
7. In 2015, one of MWW’s clients was the mobile phone maker, Samsung
Communications America (“Samsung”).
8. In 2015, Samsung sponsored a services of events known as the Samsung
Mobile App Academy (the “2015 App Academy”).
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9. According to a website hosted by Scholastic, Inc., one of Samsung’s
partners in the program, “[d]uring the summer of 2015, the Samsung Mobile App Academies
continued to transform hundreds of top-performing high school students into mobile app experts.
The App Academies provided attendees with an opportunity to work with industry leaders, learn
the many facets of mobile app development, and find out about the growing world of mobile
technology careers.” (Available at http://www.scholastic.com/samsungacademy/students.aspx
(last visited March 22, 2016).)
10. At some point prior to April 2015, Samsung retained MWW to organize,
execute and manage several aspects of 2015 App Academy.
MWW Engages BDI
11. By agreement dated April 2, 2015, MWW retained BDI to provide
instructor, staffing and support services in connection with the 2015 App Academy (the
“Services Agreement” or the “Agreement”).
12. The Services Agreement was executed on behalf of MWW by Jennifer
Little, who was then a Senior Vice President of the company.
13. Under the terms of the Agreement, MWW promised to pay BDI
$300,000.00 for successful completion of a defined Statement of Work. The Statement of Work
was referenced by the Agreement and annexed thereto as Exhibit A. The Statement of Work was
also executed by Jennifer Little.
14. A true and correct copy of the Agreement with the annexed Statement of
Work is attached to this Verified Complaint as Exhibit 1
15. The Services Agreement and Statement of Work provided that MWW
would pay 30% of $300,000.00 the fee upon signing, 35% upon the commencement of the first
“academy,” and 35% upon completion of the sixth and final “academy.”
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16. Under Section 2 of the Services Agreement, BDI was entitled to charge a
late fee of 1.5% per month on all sums past due.
17. Section 20 of the Agreement provides that in the event of any dispute, BDI
would be entitled to recover its reasonable legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with
enforcing the Agreement in court.
BDI Completes all Required Work and Receives Partial Payment
18. As of August 2015, BDI had successfully completed the entire Statement
of Work under the Agreement. MWW has never contended otherwise.
19. Moreover, if MWW had any objection to BDI’s performance, the Services
Agreement provided MWW with five days to provide BDI with a “Client Rejection Notice”
under Section 3. This procedure was never invoked by MWW.
20. To date, MWW has paid $180,000 (or 60%) of the fee due under the
Services Agreement.
MWW Repeatedly Agrees but Fails to Pay the Final BDI Invoice
21. The final $120,000.00 was invoiced on August 18, 2015 and was due in
September 2015.
22. The August 18, 2015 invoice has since been updated to reflect the 1.5%
late fee incurred in each of October 2015, November 2015, December 2015, January 2016,
February 2016 and March 2016 to a total current amount due of $130,800.00. A true and copy
of the invoice as updated is attached to this Verified Complaint as Exhibit 2.
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23. After receiving the August 18, 2015 invoice, on September 10, 2015,
Jessica Voss, MWW’s Account Coordinator sent an email to BDI principal Phillip Reyland
inquiring “I wanted to check in and make sure all of MWW’s payments to Byte have been
fulfilled. Please let me know!” Later that day, BDI answered in the negative and resent a copy of
the invoice.
24. On September 22, MWW’s Voss again inquired of BDI’s Reyland “Have
you received your $$?” Again Reyland responded in the negative.
25. On October 1, 2015, Reyland inquired “Any update on the final
payment?” Voss responded the following day stating “It was on the grid to be paid this week.
Let me follow up!”
26. On October 19, 2015 Reyland sent Voss an email stating “Still no
payment. Should i be worried?” However, on October 20, 2015, Voss responded again
confirming MWW’s intent to pay the invoice imminently, stating “Confirmed that you will be
paid this week.”
27. A true and correct copy of above-referenced the emails between Voss and
Reyland are attached to this Verified Complaint as Exhibit 3.
28. MWW never paid the August 18, 2015 invoice.
FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
(Breach of Contract)
29. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations of paragraphs 1-28.
30. On April 2, 2015, MWW entered into a binding agreement with BDI
under which BDI would perform certain defined services in exchange for a fee of $300,000.00.
31. Under the Agreement, BDI is entitled to recover interest on unpaid sums a
rate of one and one half percent (1.5%) per month.
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32. Under the Agreement, BDI is entitled to recover reasonable fees and
expenses associated with any action to enforce the Agreement in court.
33. MWW failed to pay the final $120,000.00 of the $300,000.00 fee under
the Agreement that was made due under an invoice issued on August 18, 2015.
34. As a result of MWW’s breach of the Agreement, BDI has suffered
damages as of the date of this Verified Complaint amounting to $130,800.00 plus the reasonable
fees and expenses associated with the commencement and prosecution of this action.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
(Account Stated)
35. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations of paragraphs 1-34.
36. Beginning on or about August 18, 2015 BDI presented MWW statements
of account reflecting an unpaid balance of $120,000.00 owed under the Agreement.
37. The indebtedness at issue arose from the Agreement.
38. BDI presented the account to MWW in the form of an invoice.
39. MWW accepted the account stated in the invoice and promised to pay the
same.
40. MWW has failed to pay the account stated.
41. As such, BDI has been damaged in the amount of $120,000.00 by virtue of
MWW’s failure to pay the account stated.
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PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, plaintiffs demand judgment against defendant MWW Group LLC
and an award of such actual damages as they shall prove at trial, but in an amount not less than
$130,800.00, plus interest under the Agreement accruing at a contractual rate of 1.5% per month
and for the reasonable fees, costs and disbursements of this action as provided for under the
Agreement.
Dated: New York, New York
March 22, 2016
THE LAW OFFICE OF ROBERT S. LANDY
PLLC
_____________________________
Robert S. Landy
1500 Broadway
17th
Floor
New York, NY 10036
rlandy@rlandylaw.com
(212) 256-1047
Attorney for plaintiff Byte Dept. Inc.
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Phillip Reyland
Managing Director

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Phillip Reyland
Managing Director

Description Quantity Unit Price Amount
SAA: 2015 Staffing: Final 40% 1.00 $120,000.00 $120,000.00
Late Fee: September 17, 2015 (1.5%) 1.00 $1,800.00 $1,800.00
Late Fee: October 17, 2015 (1.5%) 1.00 $1,800.00 $1,800.00
Late Fee: December 17, 2015 (1.5%) 1.00 $1,800.00 $1,800.00
Late Fee: January 17, 2016 (1.5%) 1.00 $1,800.00 $1,800.00
Late Fee: February 17, 2016 (1.5%) 1.00 $1,800.00 $1,800.00
Late Fee: March 17, 2016 (1.5%) 1.00 $1,800.00 $1,800.00
Amount Due $130,800.00
Notes
Please send all payments to the address above. To make an ACH payment, please use the information below.
Bank: Bank of America
Account Number:
Routing Number: 021000322
Swift Code: BOFAUS3N
From Byte Dept.
109 West 27th
Suite 9E
New York NY 10001
Invoice For MWW
ONE MEADOWLANDS PLAZA
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ 07073
PHONE: 201-507-9500
Invoice ID 363
Issue Date 08/18/2015
Due Date 09/17/2015 (Net 30)
Subject SAA: 2015 Staffing: Final 40%
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Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com>
Payments
32 messages
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 10:37 AM
To: Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com>
Good morning Phillip,

I wanted to check in and make sure all of MWW’s payments to Byte have been fulfilled. Please let me know!

Thanks,
Jess

JESSICA VOSS
ACCOUNT COORDINATOR
jvoss@.mww.com   l   mww.com
T. 214.414.3333   M. 972.689.3677
3030 Olive St. STE 250, Dallas, TX 75219

MWWPR
MATTER MORE +

2014 Global SABRE Award Winner
Think of the environment before printing this email.

Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 10:39 AM
To: "Jessica Voss (DALMWW)" <jvoss@mww.com>
Morning! Still waiting for the final invoice to be paid. Here it is: https://bytedept.harvestapp.com/client/invoices/
feda79f8f647f3528e3bc2f9c8229a612a1a0ff2
Thanks!
[Quoted text hidden]
23 of 30

Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Thu, Sep 10, 2015 at 10:40 AM
Thank you!

From: Phillip Reyland [mailto:phillip@bytedept.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 9:39 AM
To: Jessica Voss (DALMWW)
Subject: Re: Payments
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 5:03 PM
Have you received your $$?

Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2015 9:39 AM
To: Jessica Voss (DAL‐MWW) <jvoss@mww.com>
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 11:24 AM
Not yet. How's you?
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 11:25 AM
That’s what I thought … I’m busy, busy, busy. How are you doing?

Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 10:25 AM
Things are perfectly slow and productive at the moment. We're busy but not too busy, exactly how i like it.
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Must be nice haha! Are you free sometime next week? I wanted to pick your brain about a few things for the
announcement.

Absolutely, what time works for you? Just watching the sizzle reel for the first time. They did an amazing job.
Isn’t it awesome? I’m free any time on Tuesday.

how about noon EST?
Perfect! I’ll send out a calendar invite shortly

Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Thu, Oct 1, 2015 at 1:43 PM
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Any update on the final payment?
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Fri, Oct 2, 2015 at 11:12 AM
It was on the grid to be paid this week. Let me follow up!

‐Jess

Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 12:43 PM
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Thu, Oct 8, 2015 at 5:01 PM
Any update? Happy Thursday!
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 3:39 PM
Still haven’t been paid?

Sent: Thursday, October 08, 2015 4:01 PM
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Tue, Oct 13, 2015 at 9:57 AM
Nope :(
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Mon, Oct 19, 2015 at 7:22 PM
Still no payment. Should i be worried?
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 9:45 AM
26 of 30

Confirmed that you will be paid this week

Sent: Monday, October 19, 2015 6:23 PM
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 9:46 AM
Thank you!
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Wed, Oct 28, 2015 at 2:27 PM
Still nothing.
how are you?
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 11:41 AM
I hope you had a great weekend! Anything yet?

Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2015 1:28 PM
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Wed, Nov 4, 2015 at 2:03 PM
Nothing :)
Weekend was great, how about you?
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Wed, Nov 4, 2015 at 3:46 PM
Well, I’m glad you had a good weekend! Below is the information to Will Starace, MWWPR’s CFO. Please feel free to
email him directly in regards to the payment.

William Starace
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Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
MWW Group
One Meadowlands Plaza
East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073
Office: 2015079500
Mobile: 6467618278
Thanks,

Jess

Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2015 1:03 PM
To: Jessica Voss (DAL‐MWW) <jvoss@mww.com>

Nothing :)

Weekend was great, how about you?

Phillip Reyland, Managing Director
P (212) 6451460 | C (917) 6574994
Byte Dept.
109 W.27th, Suite 9E, New York, 10001
ByteDept.com

Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 9:57 AM
Still no check. Can you send me Williams's email?
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 9:59 AM
28 of 30

Yeah, it’s wstarace@mww.com. I’m so sorry!

Sent: Friday, December 18, 2015 8:58 AM
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Mon, Jan 11, 2016 at 4:16 PM
He's not answering emails. I'm guessing things are a little messy at the NYC office. How's you?
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 11:26 AM
I’ll make some calls and see what is going on. In the meantime, can we cancel the Wistia video site? It’s being billed
to my personal cc every month.

Thanks ahead,
Jess

Sent: Monday, January 11, 2016 3:16 PM
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 11:27 AM
Do you have all the analytics you need from it? (I never got a confirmation when i emailed it over) if you feel good about
it i can log in now and cancel.
Thanks!
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 3:06 PM
following up on my previous email....
Jessica Voss (DALMWW) <jvoss@mww.com> Wed, Jan 20, 2016 at 3:21 PM
29 of 30

Hi Phillip,

Apologies for the delay, yes, we received it, and everything looks good!

Thanks again,
Jess

Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2016 2:06 PM
Phillip Reyland <phillip@bytedept.com> Thu, Jan 21, 2016 at 4:56 PM
great, cancelled the account so you shouldn't be billed any longer.
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MWWPR Group Sued - Lawsuit Against MWW PR Vs. Byte Dept. Inc.

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