Galbreath v. Gulf Oil Corporation, Civ. A. No. 10318.

• Decision Date: 09 October 1968
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 10318.
• Citation: 294 F. Supp. 817
• Parties: Albert GALBREATH et al. v. GULF OIL CORPORATION.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

294 F. Supp. 817

Albert GALBREATH et al. v. GULF OIL CORPORATION.

Civ. A. No. 10318.

United States District Court N. D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

October 9, 1968.

David H. Fink, Robert L. Mitchell, Bullock, Yancey & Mitchell, Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiffs.

Kilpatrick, Cody, Rogers, McClatchey & Regenstein, Gene F. Presley, John C. Bracy, Atlanta, Ga., for defendant.

ORDER

EDENFIELD, District Judge.

In this action for overtime compensation pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 207, the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the facts have been stipulated by the parties. Reduced to the elements pertinent here, they are as follows:

1.

This is an action brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., by Albert Galbreath, Robert C. Wolfe, Clinton M. Lyle, Joe Coffey, Eddie R. Camp, Robert M. Buice, Robert E. Averitt, James H. Collins, Russell Wade, Leon H. Green, Gordon C. Morris, Clyde H. Sewell, James R. Gilbert, George A. Clark, Derrill H. Smith and C. M. Phillips, plaintiffs, against Gulf Oil Corporation, defendant (hereinafter referred to as "Gulf"). Plaintiffs seek recovery in this action of an amount equal to one-half their regular hourly rate of pay for all hours worked by them in their employment with Gulf in excess of forty (40) hours in any workweek during the period July 25, 1964 through October 1, 1965, together with liquidated damages in the same amount, attorney's fees, and interest at the rate of 6% per annum from July 26, 1964, and costs. Gulf Oil is an enterprise engaged in commerce within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Gulf has denied that it has any obligation to compensate plaintiffs in the manner prayed for, on the grounds that:

(1) as their duties consisted of transporting petroleum products in interstate commerce, they were employees with respect to whom the Interstate Commerce Commission had power to establish qualifications and maximum hours of service pursuant to the provisions of Section 204 of the Motor Carrier Act, 1935, 49 U.S.C. § 304, and as such were exempt from the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, pursuant to Section 13(b) (1) thereof, 29 U.S.C. § 213(b) (1), and

(2) they were compensated in good faith and in conformity with and reliance on a written enforcement policy of the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor.

2.

The plaintiffs were, during the period in issue, employed by Gulf at its Atlanta Bulk Plant, 3141 Parrott Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia. Petroleum products are distributed from this bulk plant to Gulf retail service stations, consumers and other customers of such petroleum products in an L-shaped area consisting of a corridor approximately thirty (30) miles in width running from the Atlanta area westerly to the Georgia-Alabama line, and a corridor approximately twenty (20) miles in width running from the Atlanta area northerly to a line a few miles south of Ellijay, Georgia.

3.

The plaintiffs' duties as employees of Gulf consisted mainly of driving either transport trucks or tank wagon trucks from Gulf's Atlanta Bulk Plant to various locations within the area served by such plant. The plaintiff drivers' duties are performed solely within the State of Georgia and do not require driving over or across state lines. With the exception of a comparatively insignificant amount of other materials, the product transported in such vehicles by the plaintiffs as employees of Gulf consisted either of motor or heating fuels, these products being hereinafter collectively referred to as the "transported products".

4.

All of the transported products were loaded into trucks driven by the plaintiffs at the Chattahoochee Terminal loading rack of Southeast Terminals, Inc., a corporation whose capital stock is jointly owned by Gulf and Pure Oil Corporation. The Chattahoochee Terminal is located directly across Parrott Avenue from Gulf's Atlanta Bulk Plant. Gulf owns six tanks at which petroleum products are received from its refineries. A two- to fifteen-day supply of petroleum products is kept in these tanks pending delivery. All of the products ultimately transported by the plaintiffs were shipped by Gulf to the Chattahoochee Terminal via the 36-inch pipeline of Colonial Pipeline Company (sometimes hereinafter referred to as "Colonial"), from Gulf's refinery at Port Arthur, Texas, or Gulf's Black Creek refinery at Collins, Mississippi, to Colonial's breakout facilities at Powder Springs, Georgia, and from Powder Springs via Colonial's 8-inch Powder Springs-Doraville, Georgia stub line, approximately twelve (12) miles to the Chattahoochee Terminal. Colonial Pipeline Company is a corporation whose capital stock is owned by nine major oil companies. Gulf owns 14% of the stock of Colonial and is the second largest shipper via Colonial on a barrel/miles basis. Because of the volume of movement of product through the 8-inch Powder Springs-Doraville stub line, the product cannot be loaded directly from such line into trucks.

5.

During the period in question, of the approximately 84% of the total gallonage of product shipped by Gulf from the Chattahoochee Terminal which was shipped by means of Gulf trucks driven by plaintiffs and other Gulf drivers, approximately 93% was delivered directly from the terminal to retail service stations and consuming accounts, while the remaining 7% was delivered to bulk plants of distributor-consignees.

6.

The transported products are the identical products tendered to and shipped via Colonial Pipeline Company lines from Gulf's refineries. There is no commingling of product in transit. Gulf withdraws at the Chattahoochee Terminal the same Gulf products tendered at the refinery for shipment to such location via Colonial's Powder Springs-Doraville stub line. The products diverted through such stub line from the main 36-inch line consist of an amount of transported product determined prior to tender to Colonial Pipeline Company. This product is "bled off" at Powder Springs from a much larger "slug" of Gulf products tendered at one of its refineries and moving along the main pipeline destined for Gulf delivery points at Atlanta and other locations along the main line. The amount to be moved to the Chattahoochee Terminal, as well as to all other points along the Colonial line terminating in Linden, New Jersey, is determined by Gulf prior to the initial tender of product for movement at the refinery. With the exception of a deicer added to Gulf A-1 Jet Fuel delivered to one customer served by Gulf's Atlanta Bulk Plant, no processing or alteration of the transported products occurs at the Chattahoochee Terminal or at any location after the product leaves the refinery, nor does the introduction of additives occur at any time after the products leave the refinery.

7.

When the transported products are received at the Atlanta Bulk Plant they are received into bulk storage tanks of which there are six at said terminal, having a total usable capacity of 247,900 barrels (42 gallons per barrel).

8.

The retail service stations which account for sale of approximately 68% of the total gallonage of products received by Gulf at the Atlanta Bulk Plant are either owned or leased by Gulf and operated directly by Gulf, owned or leased by Gulf and leased or subleased to dealers who operate them, or owned by others who contract to purchase and sell Gulf products. The stations which account for the majority of Gulf's retail service station sales are those operated directly by Gulf and those owned or leased by Gulf and leased or subleased to dealers who operate them. The station equipment, consisting of tanks, pumps, lift and air compressor, in all cases is owned by Gulf and for stations not operated directly by Gulf is obtained on loan from Gulf under a Memorandum of Agreement to lease. All of the Gulf retail service stations, which account for the sale of 68% of the total gallonage sold by Gulf in its Atlanta Bulk Plant area are either operated directly by Gulf or use Gulf equipment pursuant to such Memorandum of Agreement. Such retail stations form a stable group of recipients of Gulf products whose requirements are computed and projected with reasonable certainty by Gulf sales representatives responsible for such stations. The equipment provided such station operators is installed and maintained by Gulf.

9.

The transported products delivered by Gulf to consuming accounts, whether fleet, contractor, industrial or governmental subdivision, are sold pursuant to contracts, usually for a term of at least one year, which provide either for the purchase of a specified gallonage of product or for the purchase of the Gulf petroleum requirements of the purchaser during the period covered. The delivery procedure with such customers is pre-arranged —usually at the time the contract is entered into, and as a result of such contracts, 99.9% of the requirements of such consuming accounts are, for the most part, known to Gulf before product is received at the Chattahoochee Terminal. During the period in issue, unanticipated local sales at the terminal accounted for an average of 0.1% of the total volume at the terminal. Except for such unanticipated local sales, Gulf does not sell at wholesale at such location to the trade. All automotive gasoline products obtained from such bulk plant and subsequently sold at retail are sold through Gulf service stations.

10.

The demand for products at the Atlanta Bulk Plant of Gulf is computed by the evaluation of contractual commitments hereinabove referred to and prior sales experience. The "terminal demand" for product at the Atlanta Bulk Plant arising from such contractual obligations is consolidated in the form of a monthly forecast by grade of product for twelve months and is forwarded to Gulf's Product Supply Division of its Manufacturing Department, whose offices are located in Houston, Texas. These terminal demands are further...