Five of six claims in Patel v. Odiggo survived a motion to dismiss, with a Rhode Island federal court allowing wage, misclassification, quantum meruit and whistleblower counts to move forward.
The court said the complaint plausibly alleged an employment relationship under the FLSA and Rhode Island wage law, citing facts that defendants supervised work, controlled pay and could hire or fire the plaintiff.
Count IV alone was dismissed because the complaint offered only a conclusory assertion that a contract existed and was breached, failing to plausibly show any agreement.
The judge also rejected arguments that the plaintiff lacked standing on misclassification, finding alleged harms such as lost income, benefits and reputational damage were concrete enough at the pleading stage.
The suit, filed on Nov. 26, 2025, seeks compensatory, liquidated, treble and punitive damages against a Rhode Island physician and a California technology company.