Cash v. Conn Appliances, Inc.

Decision Date18 November 1997
Docket NumberNo. 1:96 CV 432 (TH).,1:96 CV 432 (TH).
Citation2 F.Supp.2d 884
PartiesDebra CASH, et al., individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. CONN APPLIANCES, INC., et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas

Brett Scott Thomas, Beaumont, TX, Paul Michael Hood, Kimberly Ann Morey, Keith H. Cole & Michael C. Dodge, Dallas, TX, for Plaintiffs.

Robert J. Hambright, George Michael Jamail & Jacqueline B. Ryall, Beaumont, TX, for Defendant.

AMENDED MEMORANDUM OPINION

HEARTFIELD, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, Debra Cash,1 Charles Prater, Christina Stroder, Anthony Lucia, Nancy Malbrough, Roderick Harrington, Krystal Johnson, Byron Neatherly and Roger Chambers, sue defendants, Conn Appliances, Inc., Conn Credit Corporation, Conn Rental, Inc., Appliance Parts & Service, Conn Development Corporation and Merchants Acceptance Corporation, for improperly compensating them for overtime work in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). Defendants move for entry of summary judgment against plaintiffs individually as to how plaintiffs' overtime pay was calculated, limitations and damages. Plaintiffs seek permission to transform this case into a FLSA collective action. The court grants defendants' motion for summary judgment on the issue of the manner in which plaintiffs' overtime compensation was calculated and denies the motion on the issues of limitations and damages as moot. That disposition leads it to deny plaintiffs' motion for this case to proceed as a FLSA collective action to the extent that this request rests on arguments raised in opposition to the summary judgment motion.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

"Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 © provides that a grant of summary judgment is proper where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Pollock v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 17 F.3d 798, 803 (5th Cir.1994). "The mere existence of a factual dispute does not by itself preclude the granting of summary judgment. `[T]he requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.'" St. Amant v. Benoit, 806 F.2d 1294, 1297 (5th Cir.1987). "The substantive law ... identif[ies] which facts are material." Forsyth v. Barr, 19 F.3d 1527, 1533 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 871, 115 S.Ct. 195, 130 L.Ed.2d 127 (1994); see Texas Manufactured Housing Ass'n, Inc. v. City of Nederland, 101 F.3d 1095, 1099 (5th Cir.1996), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 117 S.Ct. 2497, 138 L.Ed.2d 1003 (1997). "There is no genuine issue of material fact if the evidence is such that, drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant, ... a reasonable jury could not return a verdict in [her] ... favor." Atkinson v. Denton Pub. Co., 84 F.3d 144, 148 (5th Cir.1996); see Stults v. Conoco, Inc., 76 F.3d 651, 654 (5th Cir.1996).

The actual operation of the summary judgment standard depends on whether the moving or nonmoving party bears the burden of proof at trial. See Nebraska v. Wyoming, 507 U.S. 584, 590, 113 S.Ct. 1689, 1694, 123 L.Ed.2d 317, 328 (1993); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct 2505, 2513, 91 L.Ed.2d 202, 215 (1986). When the nonmoving party bears the burden of proof at trial, the moving party can carry its summary judgment burden by either "affirmatively offer[ing] evidence which undermines one or more of the essential elements of the [nonmoving party's] ... case[] or[] ... demonstrat[ing] that the evidence in the [summary judgment] record falls short of establishing an essential element of the [nonmoving party's] ... case." International Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally's, Inc., 939 F.2d 1257, 1264 (5th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1059, 112 S.Ct. 936, 117 L.Ed.2d 107 (1992). When the moving party meets its summary judgment burden, the nonmoving party must point to evidence sufficient for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in her favor to avoid having summary judgment entered against her. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. at 2510-11, 91 L.Ed.2d at 212-13; Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265, 273-74 (1986); see also Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir.1994) (en banc); James v. Otis Elevator Co., 854 F.2d 429, 432 n. 3 (11th Cir.1988). In contrast, when the moving party bears the burden of proof at trial, it must "come forward with evidence which would `entitle it to a [judgment as a matter of law] ... if the evidence went uncontroverted'" to satisfy its summary judgment burden. International Shortstop, 939 F.2d at 1264-65; see also Rizzo v. Children's World Learning Centers, Inc., 84 F.3d 758, 762 (5th Cir.1996). The nonmoving party responds by either presenting evidence sufficient for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in her favor or exposing the moving party's evidence as inadequate for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in its favor. See International Shortstop, 939 F.2d at 1265; see also Bailey v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 989 F.2d 794, 802 (5th Cir. 1993). In the face of a properly supported motion, the failure to accomplish one of these feats leads to the granting of summary judgment to the moving party. See Resolution Trust Corp. v. Northpark Joint Venture, 958 F.2d 1313, 1322 (5th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1048, 113 S.Ct. 963, 122 L.Ed.2d 120 (1993).

"The pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits in support [of] or in opposition to the motion [usually] constitute the summary judgment record." Kelley v. Price-Macemon, Inc., 992 F.2d 1408, 1415 n. 12 (5th Cir.1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1043, 114 S.Ct. 688, 126 L.Ed.2d 656 (1994). However, these "forms of evidence ... are not the exclusive ways for presenting evidence in a [summary judgment] proceeding." Duffee By and Through Thornton v. Murray Ohio Mfg. Co., 160 F.R.D. 602, 604 (D.Kan.1995). Anything that "[is] ... included in the pretrial record and that would [be] ... admissible evidence [at trial] may receive consideration." Fowler v. Smith, 68 F.3d 124, 126 (5th Cir.1995); see Turco v. Hoechst Celanese Corp., 101 F.3d 1090, 1093 (5th Cir. 1996). A court, however, is under no obligation to look beyond the materials to which the parties point to resolve a summary judgment motion. See E.D.Tex.R. CV-56(c); Skotak v. Tenneco Resins, Inc., 953 F.2d 909, 915 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 832, 113 S.Ct. 98, 121 L.Ed.2d 59 (1992); see also Zoslaw v. MCA Distrib. Corp., 693 F.2d 870, 883 (9th Cir.1982) ("A party may not prevail in opposing a motion for summary judgment by simply overwhelming the district court with a miscellany of unorganized documentation."), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1085, 103 S.Ct. 1777, 76 L.Ed.2d 349 (1983).

A court's assessment of the summary judgment record must include no "evaluat[ion of] the credibility of witnesses, weigh[ing of] the evidence, [or] ... resolu[tion of] factual disputes." International Shortstop, 939 F.2d at 1263. As "long as the evidence ... is such that a reasonable jury drawing all inferences in favor of the nonmoving party could arrive at a verdict in that party's favor, [it] ... must deny the motion." Id.

FLSA
Overview

"Using its power under the [Constitution's] Commerce Clause ..., Congress enacted in 1938 the [FLSA] ... to establish labor standards in order to maintain the `minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers.'" Jacksonville Prof'l Firefighters Ass'n Local 2961, IAFF v. City of Jacksonville, 685 F.Supp. 513, 517 (E.D.N.C.1987). "The two central themes of the FLSA are ... minimum wage and overtime requirements." Arnold v. State, 910 F.Supp. 1385, 1392 (E.D.Ark.1995); see Barrentine v. Arkansas-Best Freight Sys., 450 U.S. 728, 739, 101 S.Ct. 1437, 1444, 67 L.Ed.2d 641, 653 (1981) (discussing the FLSA's purpose). "Section [6] ... of the FLSA mandates [an] ... hourly minimum wage due to all employees[, while] ... Section [7] delineates maximum work hour limitations." Monahan v. County of Chesterfield, Va., 95 F.3d 1263, 1267 (4th Cir.1996).

The Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor (DOL) administers the FLSA. See 22 Federal Procedure § 52:303 (1984) (citing 29 U.S.C. § 204(a)). Pursuant to a delegation of authority by the Secretary of Labor, the head of that entity, known as the Administrator, issues administrative rules on the FLSA.2 Id. He offers his interpretations of those rules in opinion letters and the Wage and Hour Division Field Operations Handbook (Handbook). See Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co., 325 U.S. 410, 417-18, 65 S.Ct. 1215, 1219, 89 L.Ed. 1700, 1704-05 (1945) see also National Medical Enterprises, Inc. v. Shalala, 43 F.3d 691, 696-97 (D.C.Cir.1995); Caro-Galvan v. Curtis Richardson, Inc., 993 F.2d 1500, 1508 (11th Cir.1993); 3 Charles H. Koch, Jr. Administrative Law and Practice § 11.26 (2d ed.1997). He may withdraw or revise these pronouncements at any time. See 29 C.F.R. §§ 775.1, 778.3; see also Taylor-Callahan-Coleman Counties Dist. Adult Probation Dep't v. Dole, 948 F.2d 953, 957-59 (5th Cir.1991).

Construction of administrative rules relating to the FLSA constitutes part of the judicial function.3 A court undertaking this enterprise first consults the plain language of the rule at issue.4 See Bowles, 325 U.S. at 413-14, 65 S.Ct. at 1217, 89 L.Ed. at 1702-03; see also Greyhound Corp. v. Mount Hood Stages, Inc., 437 U.S. 322, 330, 98 S.Ct. 2370, 2375, 57 L.Ed.2d 239, 246 (1978) ("The starting point in every case involving a construction of a statute is the language itself."). When the words themselves prove inconclusive, it looks to the Administrator's reading of the rule.5 See Bowles, 325 U.S. at 413-14, 65 S.Ct. at 1217, 89 L.Ed. at 1702-03. That interpretation possesses "controlling weight" so long as it "does not...

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