Wilson v. City of Charlotte, NC

• Decision Date: 10 July 1989
• Docket Number: No. C-C-88-0079-P.,C-C-88-0079-P.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina
• Parties: Marvin O. WILSON Jr., et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, Defendant.

717 F. Supp. 408

Marvin O. WILSON Jr., et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, Defendant.

No. C-C-88-0079-P.

United States District Court, W.D. North Carolina, Charlotte Division.

July 10, 1989.

Thomas A. Woodley, Gregory K. McGillivary, Mulholland & Hickey, Washington, D.C., Louis L. Lesesne, Jr., Gillespie Lesesne & Connette, Charlotte, N.C., for plaintiffs.

F. Douglas Canty, Charlotte, N.C., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

ROBERT D. POTTER, Chief Judge.

I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT AND QUESTIONS PRESENTED

THIS MATTER is before the Court on (1) Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment on Remaining Issues, filed May 5, 1989, and (2) Plaintiffs' Cross-motion for Summary Judgment on Remaining Issues, filed May 23, 1989. Both parties are seeking partial summary judgment, pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, on the following two questions:

(1) Are Plaintiff fire captains exempt — pursuant to 29 U.S.C.A. § 213(a)(1) (West Supp.1989) and the applicable regulations — from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor and Standards Act of 1938 because they are employed in a bona fide executive capacity?

(2) Are Plaintiffs Marvin O. Wilson, Jr. ("Wilson") and Alton Butler ("Butler") entitled to receive overtime compensation for the time they have spent working as elected trustees of the Charlotte Fire Fighters' Retirement System?

Neither party has requested a hearing on the present motions, and this Court believes oral argument would not significantly aid this Court's decision-making process; the parties have adequately discussed the issues in their supporting memoranda of law, and they have provided sufficient supporting factual documentation.

As explained below, this Court will deny in part and grant in part Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment on Remaining Issues and will deny Plaintiffs' Cross-motion for Summary Judgment on Remaining Issues; summary judgment on the first question is precluded because there are genuine issues of material fact regarding the employment status of the fire captains; summary judgment on the second question will be granted in Defendant's favor because the undisputed material facts establish that Plaintiffs Wilson and Butler were not working for Defendant when they performed — at times other than their regularly scheduled shifts — their duties as elected trustees of the Charlotte Fire Fighters' Retirement System.

II. NATURE OF THE CASE

This case arises under the Fair Labor and Standards Act of 1938 as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 201-219 (West 1965, 1978, 1985 & Supp.1989) ("FLSA" or "the Act"). This Court's jurisdiction over the present case has several statutory bases: 29 U.S.C.A. § 216(b) (West Supp.1989), 28 U.S.C.A. § 1331 (West Supp.1989) ("federal question jurisdiction"); and 28 U.S.C.A. § 1337 (West Supp.1989) (civil actions related to commerce regulation).

Plaintiffs are fire fighters and fire captains who are members of Local Number 660 of the International Association of Fire Fighters ("Local 660") and who are employed by Defendant, the City of Charlotte, North Carolina ("City of Charlotte" or "City"). Plaintiffs allege that Defendant has violated Section 7(o) of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C.A. § 207(o) (West Supp.1989), by granting to Plaintiffs, despite the lack of an agreement with Plaintiffs' designated representative, compensatory time off ("comp time") in lieu of monetary compensation for overtime hours Plaintiffs have worked.

Plaintiffs are seeking several forms of relief: (1) a declaratory judgment, 28 U.S. C.A. § 2201 (West Supp.1989), declaring that Defendant has willfully and wrongfully violated its statutory obligations under Section 7(o) of the FLSA, and has thereby deprived Plaintiffs of their rights; (2) a permanent injunction restraining Defendant from withholding any compensation that is due to each of the Plaintiffs and from future violations of Plaintiffs' rights; (3) an order directing Defendant to make a complete and accurate accounting of all the compensation to which Plaintiffs are entitled; (4) monetary damages in the form of back pay compensation and liquidated damages equal to each Plaintiffs' unpaid compensation, plus interest, 29 U.S.C.A. § 216(b) (West Supp.1989); and (5) the costs of this action, including reasonable attorney's fees.

In a Memorandum of Decision entered November 21, 1988, this Court granted Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and held that the City of Charlotte violated Section 7(o) of the FLSA, 29 U.S.C.A. § 207(o) (West Supp.1989), by failing to compensate Plaintiffs monetarily for overtime hours worked. Wilson v. City of Charlotte, North Carolina, 702 F.Supp. 1232, 1238 (W.D.N.C.1988), appeal pending, No. 89-2388 (4th Cir.). On April 10, 1989, this Court — in light of a stipulation entered by the Parties — entered a Memorandum of Decision and a Judgment declaring Defendant to be in violation of Section 7(o) of the FLSA and awarding damages and liquidated damages to the fire fighters, but not to the fire captains. In the April 10th Memorandum of Decision this Court noted that the plaintiff fire captains were not included in the April 10th Judgment because the Parties disputed, and continue to dispute, whether the exemption of Section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA applies to the plaintiff fire captains.

On May 9, 1989, Defendant filed a Notice of Appeal seeking to appeal this Court's April 10th Judgment; that appeal is now pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Wilson v. City of Charlotte, No. 89-2388 (4th Cir.). On May 10, 1989, this Court entered an order staying the April 10th Judgment pending appeal.

The background facts of the present case are adequately set out in the November 21th Memorandum of Decision, Wilson, 702 F.Supp. at 1234-36, and this Court is of the opinion that no useful purpose would be served by repeating such background facts here. Nevertheless, this Court will need to consider whether there is a genuine issue material fact regarding the specific questions now before this Court.

III. APPLICABLE LAW AND DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Decision

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure establishes the standard of decision this Court must use when determining the present motions for summary judgment:

The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

Recently, the United States Supreme Court has had several occasions to construe the summary judgment standard established in Rule 56. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (anti-trust conspiracy case); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (libel action); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (asbestos related wrongful death action); Adickes v. S.H. Kress Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1969) (alleged conspiracy to violate civil rights). These cases provide substantial guidance to this Court in its determination of the present motions for summary judgment.

In Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986), the Supreme Court noted:

When the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts. In the language of the Rule, the non-moving party must come forward with "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no "genuine issue for trial."

Id. 106 S.Ct. at 1356 (emphasis in original; footnote and citations omitted; quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56).

Stated another way, it is the moving party's burden to show that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. If that burden has been met, then the non-moving party must establish that there are indeed genuine issues of material fact; usually this is done by producing affidavits of persons with personal knowledge setting forth specific information to be offered at trial.

In Celotex Corporation v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986), the Supreme Court stated the following:

In our view, the plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which the party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be "no genuine issue as to any material fact," since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Id. 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53; accord White v. Rockingham Radiologists, Ltd., 820 F.2d 98, 101 (4th Cir.1987).

The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; Rule 56 requires that there be no genuine issue of material fact. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "The substantive law will identify which facts are material." Id.

It is worth noting that in Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. the Court held:

There is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party. If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.

Id. at 2511. On the...