Gawker Media and founder Nick Denton won a three-year-old legal battle over unpaid internships on Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan concluded that the claims were outside the statute of limitations and failed under the 2nd Circuit’s “primary beneficiary” test.
Former interns Aulister Mark and Andrew Hudson hoped to lead a class-action lawsuit against Gawker for allegedly not paying minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law.
“The Court has considered the totality of the circumstances and the economic reality of the relationship between Mark and Defendants,” Nathan ruled. “The Court concludes that Mark was the primary beneficiary of his internship, and grants summary judgment to Defendants on his [Fair Labor Standards Act] and [New York Labor Law] claims.