Sinclair v. Beacon Gasoline Co.

• Decision Date: 14 June 1976
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 18910.
• Parties: Joe N. SINCLAIR, Larry C. Armour and Charles E. Holtzclaw v. BEACON GASOLINE COMPANY.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana

447 F. Supp. 5

Joe N. SINCLAIR, Larry C. Armour and Charles E. Holtzclaw v. BEACON GASOLINE COMPANY.

Civ. A. No. 18910.

United States District Court, W. D. Louisiana, Shreveport Division.

June 14, 1976.

Hugh T. Ward, Peters, Ward & Miller, Shreveport, La., for plaintiffs.

Harry Campbell Jr., Smith, Smith, Dunlap & Canterbury, Ronald T. Howard, Dallas, Tex., Henry A. Politz, Booth, Lockard, Jack, Pleasant & LeSage, Shreveport, La., for defendant.

OPINION

STAGG, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Joe N. Sinclair, Larry C. Armour and Charles E. Holtzclaw brought this action against defendant Beacon Gasoline Company, seeking overtime compensation, liquidated damages, penalties and attorney's fees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C.A. § 201, et seq. Plaintiffs are all employees or former employees of defendant. The crux of Beacon's defense lies in the exemption provisions of the Act. It claims it is entitled to exemption as a private motor carrier via § 213(b)(1), and that, if it is not so entitled, it is exempt from payment to plaintiff Holtzclaw because of his capacity as a bona fide executive employee under § 213(a)(1).

FINDINGS OF FACT

Beacon Gasoline Company (Beacon) operates a natural gas processing plant in Webster Parish, Louisiana, processing natural gas purchased by other transmission companies. In addition, it maintains a pipeline and gas gathering system servicing 80 to 90 wells.

The pipeline system contains approximately 125 miles of pipeline, 25 miles of which is located in the State of Arkansas. One line runs from the plant, about 12 miles north of Minden, Louisiana, to Shongaloo, Louisiana, consisting of an eight-inch line 15 miles in length, along with a six-inch return line. Another six-inch line runs from Shongaloo to Springhill, Louisiana, extending about seven miles. A third six-inch line runs 17 miles from the Springhill compressor site to the processing plant. A ten-mile main line runs from Cotton Valley, Louisiana, to the processing plant, and an eight-mile line runs between Leton, Louisiana, and Haynesville, Louisiana. In addition, a ten-mile line, laid in early 1970, six inches at some parts and four at others, runs from the Springhill compressor to a site in Arkansas.

The gas-gathering system is composed of smaller lines, called "lateral lines", from the main pipeline to the individual wells. It also includes compressors to increase gas pressure for transmission further down the line. At the time crucial to this litigation, Beacon maintained two compressors in Shongaloo, one in Cotton Valley and a small compressor at the Arkansas site. One of the Shongaloo compressors was later moved to Springhill.

The entire system of pipelines, gathering equipment and processing plant continues operation 24 hours per day, virtually all year around. Beacon employs persons to maintain and repair the system. Some employees maintain the plant equipment (plant men), while others maintain the extremities of the system (field men). With the exception of Holtzclaw, who allegedly became a supervisor, all the plaintiffs worked as field men during their employment with Beacon between April, 1970, and April, 1973, the pertinent period of the instant case.

At the time he filed his complaint, plaintiff Charles E. Holtzclaw no longer was employed by Beacon, but he had been so employed from September, 1959, to July, 1974, during the entire period of the controversy. For the period under study, he worked as a field man for the company. Defendant claims that at some point in time he became a supervisor, exempt from the FLSA by virtue of 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1) as a bona fide executive employee. Holtzclaw, however, testified that his duties never changed upon his "promotion". For reasons that will become evident later, it is unnecessary for the Court to reach that issue. Hence, the Court need only determine the nature and extent of his duties as a field man, accepting his own contention that his duties remained the same during the entire period in controversy.

As a field man, Holtzclaw had a variety of general duties. These included changing meter charts, maintaining compressors and helping to overhaul compressors. In addition, apparently during summer months when less maintenance was required, he cut grass, painted and did some insulation work. A major portion of his duties consisted of the maintenance and repair of main pipelines and lateral lines. These duties were comprised of fixing leaks and clearing "ice plugs" that formed in the lines, reducing or increasing pressure outside of normal parameters. He also performed general roustabout work. Occasionally he assisted in adding new pipeline to the system and making necessary tie-ins.

Holtzclaw did not have a particular assigned area, generally covering the entire area of the pipeline and gas gathering system in Louisiana and Arkansas over a period of time. To accommodate his work, Beacon furnished him with a half-ton pickup truck in which to transport himself and his tools and equipment to various job sites within the system. He regularly carried small tools, small parts and pipe fittings, and ink for meters in the truck. On occasion, he carried methanol to aid in maintenance of the pipeline and compressor system. He used the truck, so loaded, to check and repair wells in both Arkansas and Louisiana. He testified that he spent about 20 per cent of his time in Arkansas during the period in question, and he estimated that he drove into Arkansas during every week of the period. In Arkansas, he worked on ice plugs when necessary and occasionally walked the pipeline and checked it for leaks, all this activity continuing throughout the period covered by his allegations.

Plaintiff Larry C. Armour worked as a field hand for Beacon from March, 1970, through June or July, 1974. He testified that he did basically the same work as the other field men, which would include the maintenance of compressors and the maintenance of the pipeline and gas gathering system in both Louisiana and Arkansas. He also said that part of his job was to change meter charts regularly, every eight days. The meters were located in Louisiana and Arkansas.

Like Holtzclaw, Beacon furnished Armour with a half-ton pickup truck in which to transport himself and his tools and equipment to job sites. Armour stated that he regularly carried tools and supplies for work, including methanol, meter charts and ink in the truck. He occasionally hauled some pipeline parts for use in the construction of the pipeline system in Arkansas. He spent about 50 to 75 per cent of his time behind the wheel, covering a distance of 2,000 to 4,000 miles per month in his truck during the time of the allegations. Both he and plaintiff Sinclair testified that the mileage and time spent driving was about the same for all field men.

According to his testimony, Armour used his tools and truck for work in Arkansas with frequency during the winter season. The winter season included a period of about five months per year when ice plugs were a major problem. It was during this period that all three claimants claimed long working days. Armour stated that in the winter season his travails took him to Arkansas every day, but that in the summer he seldom had occasion to go to Arkansas. The latter statement is certainly understandable, because the evidence conclusively showed that there were much fewer maintenance problems overall during the summer months.

Beacon employed plaintiff Joe N. Sinclair in November, 1969, and his employment continued throughout the time of the allegations of this lawsuit and through its trial on the merits. He served as a field man, hunting ice plugs and leaks with the same basic duties as those described for Holtzclaw and Armour. He generally covered the area of Cotton Valley, Haynesville and Dykesville, all in Louisiana. Sinclair used a company-furnished pickup truck for transportation to job sites. He testified that he spent 50 to 75 per cent of his time driving and that his mileage ran similarly to that of plaintiff Armour. He carried the same tools and equipment in the truck as the other field men.

While Sinclair apparently spent less time in Arkansas than did Holtzclaw and Armour, it is not clear from the evidence exactly what was the frequency of his work there. He claimed that he went there only once or twice per month in the winter months. That claim, however, is not consistent with the testimony of the other plaintiffs. The assignment to a particular field might add support to the claim, but Holtzclaw testified that Armour also had a general specified area, and Armour went into Arkansas every day during the winter season. While it is apparent that Sinclair made less frequent trips to Arkansas then the others, the similar mileage and driving time indicate that the trips occurred more often than once or twice each month. The Court finds as a fact that Sinclair made irregular but relatively frequent trips to Arkansas, on the order of one per week on the average, in the pickup truck, carrying tools and supplies to perform maintenance and repair work on the Arkansas system.

The Court concludes that all three plaintiffs drove defendant's trucks in interstate commerce, carrying assorted tools, equipment and supplies for repair and maintenance of the pipeline system, and that their driving constituted over half their duties. The plaintiffs' duties, therefore, had a substantial effect on the safety of defendant's operation involving interstate transportation by motor vehicle.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

In 1938, Congress found working conditions substandard for many laborers. The situation, Congress found, inter alia, caused a burden on commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce and interfered with the orderly and fair marketing of goods in commerce. 29 U.S.C. § 202(a). Congress then took it upon itself to regulate interstate and foreign commerce in such a manner as to alleviate the...