Walters v. American Coach Lines of Miami, Inc.

• Decision Date: 29 July 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-22000-CIV.,07-22000-CIV.
• Citation: 569 F.Supp.2d 1270
• Parties: Elmon WALTERS, Alix Provence, Charlene Blackshear, and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. AMERICAN COACH LINES OF MIAMI, INC., a Florida corporation, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

569 F.Supp.2d 1270

Elmon WALTERS, Alix Provence, Charlene Blackshear, and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. AMERICAN COACH LINES OF MIAMI, INC., a Florida corporation, Defendant.

No. 07-22000-CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

July 29, 2008.

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Elizabeth B. Hitt, Robert Ader, Law Offices of Robert Ader, P.A., Miami, FL, for Plaintiffs.

Michael W. Casey, III, Richard D. Tuschman, Kevin E. Vance, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., Miami, FL, for Defendant.

ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

URSULA UNGARO, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment As to Defendant's Affirmative Defenses Regarding the Motor Carrier Exemption, Statute of Limitations and Liquidated Damages, filed April 17, 2008. (D.E.68.) Defendant filed its Response on May 5, 2008, (D.E.104), to which Plaintiffs replied on May 15, 2008. (D.E.125.) Also before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, filed April 18, 2008. (D.E.73.) Plaintiffs filed their Response on May 2, 2008, (D.E.100), to which Defendant replied on May 12, 2008. (D.E.121.) The matters are ripe for disposition.

THE COURT has considered the motions and the pertinent portions of the record and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.

BACKGROUND AND FACTS¹

Defendant is a motor carrier that provides for-hire ground transportation of passengers. (Def.'s Statement of Material Facts (Def.'s SMF) ¶ 1; Pls.' Statement of Undisputed Facts in Support of their Mot. for Partial Summ. J. (Pls.' SMF) ¶ 1.) Defendant has been in operation since September 2003. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 1.) Plaintiffs are or were bus drivers for Defendant. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 2; Pls.' SMF ¶ 2.) Defendant pays its drivers using a variety of different methods but does not pay any of them at overtime wage rates. (Pls.' SMF ¶ 1.)

Defendant holds itself out as an "interstate" motor carrier, advertises interstate services, is licensed with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), and holds all of the authorizations required of interstate motor carriers of passengers issued by the agency within the USDOT that regulates such carriers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 3 & 5; Pls.' SMF ¶ 1.) Defendant holds operating authority from the FMCSA in the form of an interstate motor common carrier certificate, which gives Defendant authority "to engage in transportation as a common carrier of passengers in charter and special operations, by motor vehicle in interstate or foreign commerce." (Def.'s SMF ¶ 4.) Defendant has been issued a USDOT number by the FMCSA evidencing its right to engage in interstate commerce subject to the FMCSA's safety regulations. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 3.) Defendant requires that its drivers become qualified to drive all types of vehicles used by it for passenger transportation and Defendant maintains a "driver qualification file" for each driver as required by 49 C.F.R. § 391.51(a). (Def.'s SMF ¶ 6.) Defendant is required to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), including the hours of service regulations governing drivers of vehicles used in interstate commerce at 49 C.F.R. Part 395, and to maintain required USDOT records evidencing such compliance. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 3.) Logs and other records are maintained in accordance with the requirements of those rules.² (Def.'s SMF ¶ 6.) Defendant's drivers are subject to random drug alcohol testing required by the FMCSR. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 6.)

Defendant provides transportation service between Florida and other states, as well as single-state carriage of persons, including to and from the local seaports and airports, and to and from the seaports to local hotels. (Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 5 & 10; Pls.' SMF ¶ 21 n. 2.) Defendant does not keep records of the number of trips that it makes during a given time frame, i.e., on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. (Brittenum Dep. 67 & 116, Dec. 20, 2007; Brittenum Dep. 41, Jan. 14, 2008.) Defendant has provided an estimate that on a given day it may have 100 buses on the road, and that annually it makes approximately 10,000 trips, including to and from airports and seaports, university shuttle routes, and charters. (Brittenum Dep. 67, Dec. 20, 2007; Brittenum Dep. 41, Jan. 14, 2008.)

From August 2004 through December 2007, Defendant made 148 trips across the State line, many of which lasted several weeks and some of which lasted between thirty-five and ninety days. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 7.) These trips across the State line produced over $1.7 million, or 4% of Defendant's total revenues for the period from August 2004 through December 2007.³ (Def.'s SMF ¶ 7; Pls.' SMF ¶ 12.) Seventy-four different drivers out of the 393 drivers employed by Defendant during the period from August 2004 through December 2007 (approximately 18%) made trips across the State line. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 7; Pls.' SMF ¶ 13.) Of those drivers eight have driven across the State line between five and fifteen times, and the remainder average one or two trips each across the State line. (Pls.' SMF ¶ 13.)

According to Defendant, of the sixty-three Plaintiffs in this action, eleven (approximately 17%) have driven across the State line while employed by Defendant, and have spent a total of 286 days on such trips across the State line. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 8; Kelly Decl. ¶ 9 & Ex. B.) Plaintiffs have provided evidence that at least two of the eleven Plaintiffs counted by Defendant never traveled out of the State while employed by Defendant, so the calculation would be adjusted, such that, of the sixty-three Plaintiffs in this action, nine (approximately 14%) have driven across the State line while employed by Defendant, and have spent fewer than 286 days on such trips across the State line. (Pls.' SMF II ¶¶ 6-7; Kelly Decl. ¶ 9 & Ex. B; Burns Aff. ¶¶ 2-3; Smith Aff. ¶¶ 2-3.) Of the twenty-three Plaintiffs who were employed by Defendant for one year or more during the period from August 2004 through December 2007, six Plaintiffs (26%) drove across the State line while employed by Defendant. (Kelly Decl. ¶ 9 & Exs. B & C; Burns Aff. ¶¶ 2-3.)

Of the Plaintiffs who have driven across the State line while employed by Defendant, there is evidence that four of these Plaintiffs drove empty buses across the State line and did not transport passengers on these trips (Zellner Aff. ¶ 3; Chambers Aff. ¶ 3; Pedrozo Aff. ¶ 3; Sheffield Aff. ¶ 3); two of these Plaintiffs either drove an empty bus across the State line or flew out-of-state, and then remained at their out-of-state destination to drive passengers within that State (Jefferson Aff. ¶ 3; Saunders Aff. ¶ 3); and one of these Plaintiff drivers took two trips across the State line while employed by Defendant, transporting passengers across the State line on one of those trips, and driving an empty bus across the State line on the other trip, remaining there for a few days to drive passengers within that State (Price Aff. ¶ 3).

Defendant was audited by the USDOT, FMSCA on October 18, 2004. (2d Supplemental Brittenum Decl. ¶ 2 & Ex. A.) Defendant also was audited in May 2007 by the FMSCA and the Florida Department of Transportation (FLDOT) to determine compliance with the FMSCR and State regulations.⁴ (Def.'s SMF ¶ 3.) Defendant was cited by the FLDOT for violations of both federal and State regulations, including ninety-five violations regarding drivers' hours of service. (Pls.' SMF ¶ 39.) The violations were found in only a sampling of Defendant's drivers' logbooks. (Pls.' SMF ¶ 39.) During the course of the audit, Sergeant Michael Roberts of the FLDOT determined, based on information provided by Defendant including thousands of randomly sampled driver logbooks, that the majority of Defendant's trips were within the State, and that Defendant conducted a limited number of trips across the State line. (Pls.' SMF ¶¶ 40-42.) During the course of the May 2007 audit, Roberts learned that sixty-seven of Defendant's then-employed drivers did not make any trips across the State line while employed by Defendant, and out of thousands of logbook entries, there were a total of nine trips across the State line during the six-month period preceding the May 2007 audit. (Pls.' SMF ¶ 44.)

On September 1, 2006, Defendant entered into a written contract (the "Transportation Services Agreement") with Royal Carribean Cruise Lines (RCCL) to provide ground transportation services to RCCL cruise line passengers. (Def.'s SMF ¶ 17; Pls.' SMF ¶ 19.) According to Defendant, it began providing ground transportation services to RCCL cruise line passengers in April 2006, approximately five months prior to the September 1, 2006 effective date of the written contract. (Brittenum Decl. ¶ 18(a); Brittenum Supplemental Decl. ¶ 3 & Ex. A.) During the period from April 2006 to December 2007, Defendant has transported more than 500,000 RCCL cruise passengers, yielding revenues in excess of $4.4 million. (Brittenum Decl. ¶ 18(a).) However, according to Plaintiffs, RCCL did not use Defendant for ground transportation services until the Transportation Services Agreement became effective on September 1, 2006. (Trescastro Dep. 7:3-13; 45:1-4, Mar. 6, 2008.)

Defendant is the sole provider of airport-to-seaport and seaport-to-airport ground transportation services for RCCL's passengers during the day; another company provides RCCL's ground transportation services at night. (Brittenum Dep. 191:23-192:11, Jan. 14, 2008; Trescastro Dep. 6:10-23.) Under the Transportation Services Agreement between Defendant and RCCL, Defendant provides airport-to-seaport and seaport-to-airport ground transportation for RCCL cruise line passengers to and from Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports to and from the Port of Miami and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. (Pls.' SMF ¶ 21.) The distance between these airports and seaports does not exceed a twenty-five mile radius "as the crow flies,"...