Former Employees of Tyco v. U.S. Dept. of Labor

• Decision Date: 05 March 2003
• Docket Number: SLIP OP. 03-24. No. 02-00152.
• Citation: 259 F.Supp.2d 1246
• Parties: FORMER EMPLOYEES OF TYCO ELECTRONICS, FIBER OPTICS DIVISION, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of International Trade

259 F.Supp.2d 1246

FORMER EMPLOYEES OF TYCO ELECTRONICS, FIBER OPTICS DIVISION, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Defendant.

SLIP OP. 03-24. No. 02-00152.

United States Court of International Trade.

March 5, 2003.

Williams Mullen, P.C., Washington, DC (Jimmie V. Reyna, Francisco J. Orellana) for Plaintiffs.

Robert D. McCallum, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, David M. Cohen, Director, Lucius B. Lau, Assistant Director, John N. Maher, Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Jay Reddy, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, for Defendant, of counsel.

BEFORE: The Honorable GREGORY W. CARMAN, Chief Judge.

OPINION

CARMAN, Chief Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendant's, the United States Department of Labor ("Labor"), second Motion for Leave to File the Remand Results Out of Time and Plaintiffs' Motion for NATA-TAA Certification, Reasonable Attorney's Fees, and Dismissal of the Case. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 2395(c)(2000) and 28 U.S.C. 1581(d)(1)(2000). For the reasons set forth below, this Court grants Defendant's second Motion for Leave to File the Remand Results Out of Time. Further, this Court denies Plaintiffs' claim for NAFTTAA Certification and Dismissal of the Case and grants Plaintiffs' request for Reasonable Attorney's Fees. This action shall proceed as detailed in the order accompanying this opinion.

BACKGROUND

The parties have stipulated to the facts regarding the motions under consideration by the Court. (Timeline Stipulation, Jan. 29, 2003.) On August 7, 2002, this Court issued an order granting the parties' Consent Motion for Voluntary Remand to the Secretary of Labor for reconsideration of Plaintiffs' eligibility for certification for North American Free Trade Transitional Adjustment Assistance ("NAFTA-TAA") benefits. (Id. at ¶ 1.) According to that order, the Remand Results were to be filed with the Court on or before October 7, 2002. (Id. at ¶ 2.) Labor failed to comply with the Court's order and did not submit a remand determination to this Court on or before October 7, 2002. Further, Labor did not file a motion for an extension of time on or before October 7, 2002.

On October 17, 2002, Plaintiffs submitted information to Defendant's counsel for use in the remand determination. (Id. at ¶ 3.) On November 12, 2002, Plaintiffs contacted Defendant to inquire about the status of the remand investigation. (Id. at ¶ 4.) At that time, Defendant's counsel informed Plaintiffs' counsel that the remand investigation had not started. (Id.) On November 14, 2002, Defendant filed its first Motion for Leave to File the Remand Results Out of Time. (Id. at ¶ 6.) Labor requested until January 6, 2003 to file the Remand Results. (Id.)

On December 4, 2002, Plaintiffs filed their Opposition to Defendant's Motion and a Cross-Motion for NAFTA-TAA Certification, Reasonable Attorney's Fees, and Dismissal of the Case. (Id. at ¶ 7.) On December 13, 2002, Defendant filed its Opposition to Plaintiffs' Cross-Motion. (Id. at ¶ 8.) On January 2, 2003, Defendant filed a second Motion for Leave to File Remand Results Out of Time. (Id. at ¶ 9.) This time, Labor requested until January 21, 2003 to file the Remand Results. On January 10, 2003, Plaintiffs filed their Opposition to Defendant's second Motion for Leave to File Remand Results Out of Time. (Id. at ¶ 10.) The Remand Results were filed with the Court on January 17, 2003. The parties participated in a telephone conference on January 28, 2003 called by the Court to discuss the pending motions. At the Court's request, Plaintiffs submitted a certified accounting of billable hours expended in response to Labor's Out of Time requests. (Pls.' Attorney's Fees Submission, Jan. 30, 2003). The itemized list of billable hours indicates, in separate columns, the date of the billable activity, a brief description of the billable activity, and the hours expended on the billable activity. (Id. at 1-3.) Plaintiffs' counsel appears in this action pro bono. Using the rates that Plaintiffs' counsel normally charges to clients, the requested attorney's fees amount to $7,457.50 for 48.1 hours worked in response to Defendant's out of time motions. (Id.)

ANALYSIS

I. Defendant's Second Motion for Leave to File the Remand Results Out of Time is Granted and Plaintiffs' Motion for NAFTA-TAA Certification and Dismissal of the Case is Denied.

The United States Court of International Trade ("USCIT") Rule 6(b)(2) provides that a motion for an extension of time

"shall be filed prior to the expiration of the period allowed for the performance of the act to which the motion relates (including any previous extension of time); except, when for good cause shown the delay in filing was the result of excusable neglect or circumstance beyond the control of the party."

USCIT R. 6(b)(2)(2002). In accordance with USCIT Rule 1, Rule 6(b)(2) "shall be construed and administered to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination" of this action. USCIT R. 1 (2002).

Defendant filed its first Motion for Leave to File Voluntary Remand Results Out of Time forty-five days after the Remand Results were due to be filed with this Court. Under Rule 6(b)(2), this Court must determine whether Defendant's delay in filing its motion was due to Defendant's "excusable neglect or circumstance beyond" its control. USCIT R. 6(b)(2). In other cases, this Court has reasoned that a finding of "excusable neglect requires an analysis of'all relevant circumstances surrounding the party's omission . . . [including] the danger of prejudice to the [nonmovant], the length of the delay and its potential impact on judicial proceedings, the reason for the delay, including whether it was within the reasonable control of the movant, and whether the movant acted in good faith.'" E.I. Dupont De Nemours & Co. v. United States, 15 F.Supp.2d 859, 861 (1998) (quoting Pioneer Inv. Servs. v. Brunswick Assocs. Ltd. P'ship., 507 U.S. 380, 395, 113 S.Ct. 1489, 123 L.Ed.2d 74 (1993)).

In support of its first Motion for Leave to File Voluntary Remand Results Out of Time, Defendant contends that it failed to file the Remand Results on time "due to a combination of the following: Labor's Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance is experiencing severe personnel shortages but increased petitions; at present, approximately 10 investigators are responsible for approximately 1000 ... petitions; Labor is experiencing an increase in... petitions because the current economic conditions have resulted in an increase in business closures; Labor is currently implementing a new Trade Act Program, broader in scope than current programs, that must be accomplished by the end of 2002; Labor's Office of the Solicitor, Employment and Training Legal Services Division is also experiencing a personal shortage with an increasing caseload; and administrative oversight." (Def.'s Mot. for Leave to File Voluntary Remand Results Out of Time at 1-2.)

Defendant states that its "need for additional time, out of time, was the result of a combination of personnel, logistical, administrative, workload, economic, and congressional challenges that formed the inadvertence that ultimately led to the necessity for additional time to complete the investigation and file the results." (Def.'s Opp'n to Pis.' Mot. for Certification, Attorney's Fees, and Dismissal of the Case ("Def.'s Opp'n Br.") at 3.) Specifically, Defendant states "administrative oversight" as the reason its Motion for Leave to File the Remand Results Out of Time was filed forty-five days after the Court's due date. (Id. at 4.)

To explain its second Motion for Leave to File Remand Results Out of Time, Defendant contends that "despite Labor's diligent efforts to complete the investigation unforeseen events have prevented Labor from obtaining information necessary for a complete investigation." (Def.'s [second] Mot. for Leave to File Voluntary Remand Results Out of Time at 1.)

Plaintiffs contend that Defendant's arguments do not demonstrate excusable neglect or circumstances beyond the control of the party as required by Rule 6(b)(2). (Mem. of P. & A. in Opp'n of Def.'s Mot. for Leave to File Remand Results Out of Time and In Supp. of Cross-Mot. for NAFTA-TAA Certification of Former Tyco Employees and Reasonable Attorney's Fees ("Pls.' Br.") at 10-11.) Plaintiffs contend that personnel shortages, administrative oversights, and increased workloads do not rise to the level of excusable neglect or circumstances beyond Defendant's control. (Id.) Plaintiffs contend that this Court should not grant Defendant leave to file the Remand Results out of time. (Id. at 11-12.)

In their Cross-Motion, Plaintiffs ask this Court to certify Plaintiffs as eligible to receive NAFTA-TAA benefits based upon the current record before the Court. (Id at 12.) Plaintiffs contend that this case is similar to a prior case in which this Court ordered Labor to certify the plaintiffs after Labor failed to conduct an adequate investigation on remand. (Id at 13) (citing Former Employees of Barry Callebaut v. Herman, 240 F.Supp.2d 1214, 1228 (CIT 2002).) In this case, Plaintiffs argue that Labor "not only ignored the Court's [o]rder to conduct an adequate investigation and to submit remand results by a certain date," Labor "never even started the remand investigation" within the time specified in the Court's order. (Pls.' Br. at 13.)

As previously stated, USCIT Rule 6(b)(2) provides that a motion for an extension of time "shall be filed prior to the expiration of the period allowed for the performance of the act to which the motion relates ... except, when for good cause shown the delay in filing was the result of excusable neglect or circumstance beyond the control of the party." USCIT R. 6(b)(2). This rule must be construed "to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination" of this action. USCIT R. 1. This Court finds that D...