Viart v. Bull Motors, Inc., 99-1961-CIV.

• Decision Date: 28 June 2001
• Docket Number: No. 99-1961-CIV.,99-1961-CIV.
• Citation: 149 F.Supp.2d 1346
• Parties: Nelson VIART Plaintiff v. BULL MOTORS, INC. Defendant
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

Page 1346

149 F.Supp.2d 1346

Nelson VIART Plaintiff v. BULL MOTORS, INC. Defendant

No. 99-1961-CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida, Miami Division.

June 28, 2001.

Jamie H. Zidell, Miami Beach, FL, for Plaintiff.

Mark T. Kobelinski, Coral Gables, FL, for Defendant.

AMENDED ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW

JORDAN, District Judge.

Nelson Viart sued his former employer, Bull Motors, for violations of the overtime and retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-216. Bull Motors argued that Mr. Viart was exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA, and that it had not retaliated against him. After a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for Mr. Viart on both claims.

At the close of Mr. Viart's case, Bull Motors timely moved for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 on Mr. Viart's overtime claim, and I reserved ruling on the motion. For the following reasons, Bull Motor's renewed motion for a Rule 50 judgment [D.E. 111] is GRANTED.

I. THE RULE 50 STANDARD

The standard for granting a motion for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50 "mirrors" the standard for granting summary judgment under Rule 56. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 149-150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250-51, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). A motion for judgment as a matter of law requires the consideration of "`whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.'" Davis v. Town of Lake Park, 245 F.3d 1232, 1237 (11th Cir.2001) (citing Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505). If substantial evidence exists in opposition to a motion for judgment as a matter of law, such that reasonable people, exercising impartial judgment, could reach different conclusions, then the motion must be denied. See id. I must consider the evidence and inferences in the light most favorable to Mr. Viart, the non-moving party. See Reeves, 530 U.S. at 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097; Davis, 245 F.3d at 1237 (citing Carter v. City of Miami, 870 F.2d 578, 581 (11th Cir.1989)).

II. THE RELEVANT FACTS

Bull Motors employed Mr. Viart as a "pre-delivery inspection technician." Mr. Viart was certified by Ford as a PDI technician, and he worked only on new Ford cars and trucks. Ford's policy is to condition coverage of warranty repairs on Bull Motors employing certified PDI technicians. Bull Motors uses a Ford PDI 46-point checklist¹ that the PDI technicians fill out for every car they inspect. Ford distributes service bulletins for all technicians, including some aimed at PDI technicians. PDI technicians are not supposed to perform mechanical repairs, but some of their duties—such as inspecting for engine leaks and testing the brakes—overlap with those of the service technicians.

As a PDI technician, Mr. Viart's duties included checking the air conditioning, battery, and steering of each new car; checking and refilling the car's fluids; checking the interior of the car (e.g., the lights gauges, locks, mirrors, windows, and seats); and driving the car four to five miles to ensure proper operation. Although Mr. Viart was responsible for installing any accessories in the cars, during the last three years he was at Bull Motors most accessories were pre-installed. Mr. Viart also attached the license plates and appropriate dealership stickers to the cars, and ensured proper door and hood adjustments. Mr. Viart used keys, wrenches, and electric and battery-powered tools— which he bought himself—to complete these tasks. Mr. Viart estimated that he spent an average of approximately 30-40 minutes inspecting each car. Of these minutes, 15-20 were spent test driving the car.²

Mr. Viart's duties did not include washing or polishing cars, and the employees who worked washing and polishing the cars were not certified as PDI Technicians. Primarily, Mr. Viart simply worked through all 46 items in the PDI checklist. Bull Motors did not employ Mr. Viart as a service technician—a repair mechanic— and he was not supposed to perform any mechanical repairs on the cars. If any mechanical repairs were needed in the engine or the interior, Mr. Viart would report the problem to his supervisor, or he would take the car to the service department. Because the vast majority of the new cars he inspected were in good mechanical shape, there was rarely any need for any sort of repairs.

Mr. Viart generally worked six days per week. He arrived at work at 6:00 a.m. and would stay until late afternoon or early evening, depending on the number of cars that need pre-delivery inspections. If no cars needed such inspections, Mr. Viart would leave around 1:00 or 2:00 p.m., but would remain available until 5:00 p.m. When he left, Bull Motors required (through Mr. Viart's supervisor, Pedro Blanco) only that Mr. Viart return to the dealership promptly if he was needed. Mr Viart was not required to stay at home, however, and was free to be anywhere he chose as long as he responded when notified. When he was called in on these occasions, Mr. Viart would return to Bull Motors within 10 or 15 minutes. Including so-called "waiting time," Mr. Viart usually worked more than 40 hours a week. Generally, Mr. Viart worked very independently.

Bull Motors paid Mr. Viart a flat or "flag" rate for each car he inspected, no matter how long it took him to complete the inspection. Mr. Viart's rate was $10 per car, and his annual salary from 1996 to 1999 was between $35,000 and $37,000. Bull Motors did not pay Mr. Viart overtime wages for weeks in which he worked more than 40 hours.

III. THE MECHANICS' EXEMPTION IN 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(10)(A)

Bull Motors argues that no reasonable juror could have found that Mr. Viart was outside the scope of the mechanics exemption contained in 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(10)(A). That section provides that mechanics "primarily engaged in ... servicing automobiles" employed by "a nonmanufacturing establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling such vehicles [] to ultimate purchasers" are exempt from the overtime requirements of the FLSA. This exemption, like other FLSA exemptions, is to be narrowly construed. See, e.g., Auer v. Robbins, 519 U.S. 452, 462, 117 S.Ct. 905, 137 L.Ed.2d 79 (1997) (citing Arnold v. Ben Kanowsky, Inc., 361 U.S. 388, 392, 80 S.Ct. 453, 4 L.Ed.2d 393 (1960)); Freeman v. City of Mobile, 146 F.3d 1292, 1297 (11th Cir.1998) (citation omitted). See also Shultz v. Louisiana Trailer Sales, Inc., 428 F.2d 61, 65-67 (5th Cir.1970) (holding that employees of a mobile home dealer who converted trailers into permanent residences were not mechanics primarily engaged in servicing trailers for purposes of the overtime exemption in § 213 because exemptions from the FLSA's overtime provisions must be narrowly construed).

The determination of whether a given employee falls within the scope of a FLSA exemption, while based on the underlying facts, is ultimately a legal question. See Icicle Seafoods, Inc. v. Worthington, 475 U.S. 709, 713-14, 106 S.Ct. 1527, 89 L.Ed.2d 739 (1986). See also Evans v. McClain of Ga., Inc., 131 F.3d 957, 965-66 (11th Cir.1997) (reversing summary judgment for the employer because material issues of fact existed as to whether the employee was exempt from the FLSA's overtime provisions); Smith v. City of Jackson, 954 F.2d 296, 298 (5th Cir.1992) (explaining that while the factual circumstances are critical, the question of whether an employee is exempt under the FLSA is ultimately a legal one); Mitchell v. City Ice Co., 273 F.2d 560, 562 (5th Cir.1960) (holding that factual disputes surrounding whether an employee was exempt should be resolved by a jury). Bull Motors relies on several sources to support its position that Mr. Viart is, as a matter of law, an exempt employee.

First, Bull Motors points to the regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Department of Labor, who is charged under 29 U.S.C. § 204 with administering the FLSA. These regulations set out the criteria for various FLSA exemptions. See 29 C.F.R. § 779.300 et seq. (Chapter V, Subpart D). One of those regulations defines a mechanic, as that term is used in § 213(b)(10), as

any employee primarily engaged in doing mechanical work (such as get ready mechanics, automotive, truck, farm implement, or aircraft mechanics, used car reconditioning mechanics, and wrecker mechanics) in the servicing of an automobile, trailer, truck, farm implement, or aircraft for its use and operation of such. This includes mechanical work required for safe operation as a vehicle, farm implement, or aircraft. The term does not include employees primarily performing such non-mechanical work as washing, cleaning, painting, polishing, tire changing, installing seat covers, dispatching, lubricating, or other non-mechanical work.

29 C.F.R. § 779.372(c)(3) (2000). The regulation's inclusion of a "get-ready mechanic" within the mechanics' exemption would seem to embrace an employee like Mr. Viart. Because Congress has not "directly spoken to the precise question at issue" by defining the term mechanic, I must sustain the Secretary's approach, as reflected by the regulation, so long as it is "based on a permissible construction of the statute." Auer, 519 U.S. at 457, 117 S.Ct. 905; Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842-43, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984). I see no reason, and Mr. Viart has not offered one, to find that the Secretary's approach is based on an invalid construction of the statute. See United States v. Mead Corp., ___ U.S. ___, 121 S.Ct. 2164, 150 L.Ed.2d 292 (2001) ("[A]dministrative implementation of a particular statutory provision qualifies for Chevro...