Laney v. Redback Energy Servs., LLC
Laney v. Redback Energy Servs., LLC
Opinion of the Court
This Order concerns Plaintiffs' Motion for Conditional Certification (Docket Entry 21) and Plaintiffs' Motion for Approval and Distribution of Notice and for Disclosure of Contact Information (Docket Entry 22). Pretrial matters have been referred to the undersigned for disposition pursuant to
I. Jurisdiction.
Plaintiffs' suit alleges violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to
II. Background.
This a putative collective action suit to recover unpaid overtime compensation and other damages under FLSA,
On July 18, 2017, Plaintiffs filed this collective action on behalf of themselves and other Supervisors who were not paid "lawful overtime compensation for hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week." (Docket Entry 1, at 2.) Plaintiffs filed a motion to conditionally certify a putative class consisting of "[a]ll current and former employees of Defendants who were employed as salaried Supervisors at any time since July 18, 2014." (Docket Entry 21, at 3.) Plaintiffs concurrently filed a motion seeking approval and distribution of notice to the putative class. (Docket Entry 22.) Defendants responded to both motions (Docket Entries 26 and 27) and Plaintiffs replied (Docket Entries 28 and 29).
*984At a scheduling conference held on October 26, 2017, the parties discussed these motions, and the potential impact on the opt-in class in this case that could be caused by previous litigation in which "the same class of employees" was certified for collective action, in a case called Reynolds v. Redback Energy Services, LLC , No. 5:15-cv-1145-M (W.D. Okla.). (See Docket Entry 28, at 2.) At the conference, the parties made competing proposals for certifying a class which would avoid duplication of the claims already addressed in Reynolds. The parties subsequently filed supplemental briefing concerning the appropriate scope of the potential opt-in class in light of Reynolds. (See Docket Entries 36-38.)
III. Motion for Conditional Certification.
Plaintiffs move to conditionally certify a class comprised of "all current and former employees of Defendants who were employed as salaried Supervisors at any time since July 18, 2014, excluding individuals who settled their claims in the Reynolds case and did not continue working after the settlement in Reynolds. "
A. Certification.
FLSA permits employees to bring an action against their employers for violation of FLSA wage and hour provisions.
Courts have discretion to allow a party asserting FLSA claims on behalf of others to notify potential plaintiffs that they may choose to "opt-in" to the suit. See Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. v. Sperling ,
At the "notice" stage, a plaintiff files a motion to provide notice of the lawsuit to potential class members. Mooney ,
*985If the motion to authorize notice is granted, the district court will conditionally certify the class so that putative class members are provided an opportunity to "opt-in" to the lawsuit. Mooney ,
In order to demonstrate that conditional certification and notice to potential plaintiffs is proper, a plaintiff must make a minimal showing that "(1) there is a reasonable basis for crediting the assertions that aggrieved individuals exist, (2) that those aggrieved individuals are similarly situated to the plaintiff in relevant respects given the claims and defenses asserted, and (3) that those individuals want to opt-in to the lawsuit." Casanova v. Gold's Texas Holdings Group, Inc. , SA:13-CV-1161-DAE,
To determine whether the requisite showing has been made, courts look at the similarity of job requirements and pay provisions for the potential plaintiffs, and at whether they appear to be victims of a common policy or plan. See Roebuck v. Hudson Valley Farms, Inc. ,
Plaintiffs here contend that the pleadings and declarations they have submitted demonstrate that a class of similarly situated potential plaintiffs exists, and therefore conditional certification is proper. (Docket Entry 21, at 5.) In response, Defendants make four arguments: (1) Plaintiffs have not shown they are similarly situated amongst themselves or the putative class; (2) Plaintiffs have not shown others are interested in joining the suit; (3) Plaintiffs' collective action allegations should be dismissed under the first-to-file rule; and (4) equitable considerations bar certification in this case. (Docket Entry 26, at 1-2; Docket Entry 38, at 4.) For the reasons set out below, each of these arguments fails.
1. Similarly Situated. Plaintiffs have met their lenient burden of showing that they are similarly situated to the intended notice recipients. As discussed above, the similarly situated element can be shown by similarity of job requirements and pay provisions for the potential plaintiffs, and whether they appear to be victims of a common policy or plan. See Butler ,
Plaintiffs have set forth substantial allegations in their complaint, and have submitted sufficient evidence in supporting declarations, to suggest that the potential plaintiffs are similarly situated with respect to their job duties and pay provisions. (Docket Entry 10, at 7-11; Docket Entries 21-1, 21-2, and 21-3.) Plaintiffs described their primary job duties as "manual labor," including "maintain[ing] and operat[ing] the equipment used at the oilfield well sites." (Docket Entry 21-1, at 1; Docket Entry 21-2, at 1; and Docket Entry 21-3, at 1.) Laney claims that his job included responsibility for "running iron, rebuilding pumps, rebuilding anything that broke on location, rigging up and rigging down coil units, fluid pumps, nitrogen pumps, and wellheads, and mixing chemicals." (Docket Entry 21-1, at 2.)
*986The declarations of other Plaintiffs/putative class members generally state similar duties and responsibilities. (See Docket Entry 21-2, at 2 and Docket Entry 21-3, at 2.)
The declarations also show that potential class members were all paid in a similar manner, thus showing them to be subject to a common pay policy. (See Docket Entry 21-1, at 2; Docket Entry 21-2, at 2; and Docket Entry 21-3, at 2.) Laney, Holmes, and Moneypenny state in their declarations that "[i]n addition to [their] salary, [they] received regular bonuses as part of [their] regular compensation as a part of a company-wide policy for salaried employees like [themselves]." (Id. ) Laney, Holmes, and Moneypenny worked at multiple well sites in multiple states, the duties they performed at the various sites were the same, and they received no new training for working at the various different well sites. (Id. ) Taken together, these statements indicate that the Supervisor position was the same at all of Defendants' locations and the Supervisors were paid in the same manner. This is sufficiently indicative of a common pay policy. Plaintiffs have made a sufficient showing of similarity to allow for conditional certification.
2. Interest in Joining Lawsuit. To obtain conditional certification, a Plaintiff must show that there are other putative class members who will likely desire to opt in. Casanova ,
3. First-to-File Rule. Defendants argue that because an identical class was previously certified in Reynolds , the Reynolds court has dominant jurisdiction and the first-to-file rule precludes class certification in this case. (Docket Entry 26, at 12.) This is incorrect. The first-to-file rule dictates that, when related cases are pending before two separate federal courts, the court in which the case was last filed may refuse to hear the case if the issues raised by the two cases substantially overlap. Cadle Co. v. Whataburger of Alice ,
The Reynolds class consisted of "[a]ll specialists and/or supervisors who were employed by Redback Energy Services, LLC and were paid a salary and/or a job bonus, but not paid overtime compensation, during the time period [ ], 2013 to the present." (Docket Entry 26, at 3.) The Reynolds class was certified on March 22, 2016. The parties in Reynolds settled their claims and the case was dismissed on April *98727, 2017. (Docket Entry 26, at 3.) Plaintiffs subsequently filed this suit on July 18, 2017. (Docket Entry 1.) Because the Reynolds class extended no further than 2016, and because that case was settled before this case began, at no point in time were the two cases pending concurrently. Accordingly, the concerns addressed by the first-to-file rule-namely comity and judicial efficiency regarding concurrent cases-are not implicated here. Cf. Cadle Co. ,
4. Equity. Defendants' final arguments are related to their first-to-file argument, but are rooted in equity. Defendants argue that putative class members in this case were apprised of this potential claim in the Reynolds case and "notice to a class who already received notice is unnecessary, inappropriate, duplicitous, and serves only to harass putative class members into joining this case." (Docket Entries 26, at 11-12; 38, at 7.) In support, Defendants cite case law wherein district courts denied requests for "reminder notices," due to the concern that a reminder notice could be interpreted as encouragement by the Court to join the lawsuit. See, e.g., Knispel v. Chrysler Grp. LLC , No. 11-11886,
Defendants further argue that sending notice to Plaintiffs' proposed class is inefficient, would result in wasteful duplication and destroy the efficiency that § 216(b) was designed to create. (Docket Entry 38, at 8.) Whatever weight these arguments may carry, they are not determinative considering the lenient notice-stage standard for conditional certification. In any event, Defendants face no serious prejudice: if it becomes apparent that Plaintiffs and any other class members' overtime claims should be pursued on an individual basis, Defendants may move to decertify the class. See Mooney ,
B. Scope of Class.
As noted above, Plaintiffs argue the class should consist of "all current and former employees of Defendants who were employed as salaried Supervisors at any time since July 18, 2014, excluding individuals who settled their claims in the Reynolds case and did not continue working after the settlement in Reynolds. " (Docket Entry 37, at 1.) Defendants argue that if a class is certified in this case, it should be limited to Supervisors hired after March 22, 2016, the day the Reynolds class was certified. (Docket Entry 38, at 2.)
In support of their narrowed suggested class, Defendants argue that where overlap occurs, individuals who received notice in a prior collective action should not also receive notice in a subsequent collective action. (See Docket Entry 38, at 5 (citing Turner v. Nine Energy Serv., LLC , No. H-15-3670,
Reprising some of their certification arguments, Defendants further contend that providing notice in this case to Supervisors employed at the time Reynolds was pending is harassing, inefficient and wasteful, and unduly prejudicial to Defendants. (Docket Entry 38, at 5, 7.) None of these contentions are persuasive. Regarding harassment, the cases cited by Defendants concern sending a follow-up notice to putative class members in one case, as opposed to sending initial notice in a separate, subsequent suit. See, e.g., Leyva v. 35 Bar & Grill, LLC , No. SA-15-CA-295-FB,
Accordingly, the following class is conditionally certified: All current and former employees of Defendants who were employed as salaried Supervisors at any time since July 18, 2014, excluding those individuals who settled their claims in the Reynolds case and did not continue working after the settlement in Reynolds.
IV. Notice and Disclosure of Contact Information.
Once a court decides that class certification is appropriate, it is within its sound discretion to issue and monitor notice. Sperling ,
Courts routinely grant discovery of identity and contact information for putative plaintiffs once conditional certification has been granted. See Sperling ,
Plaintiffs have proposed a form notice to class members for approval. (See Docket Entry 22-1.) Although Defendants objected to Plaintiffs' proposed notice, they also requested an opportunity to confer regarding the content of the notice in the event of conditional certification. (Docket Entry 27, at 1-2.) Accordingly, the Court will not address Defendants' objections at this *989time, but will instead require the parties to confer on the specifics of the notice-including the form and contents of the notice, the delivery method, and the manner of consent-to determine if Defendants' objections can be resolved.
V. Conclusion.
Based on the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion for Conditional Certification (Docket Entry 21) is GRANTED IN PART . It is FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion for Approval and Distribution of Notice and for Disclosure of Contact Information (Docket Entry 22) is HELD IN ABEYANCE . The parties must confer on the specifics of the notice, including the form and contents of the notice, the delivery method, and the manner of consent. At or before this conference, Defendants must provide Plaintiffs with the potential class members' contact information, as discussed above. It is FURTHER ORDERED that, within twenty-one (21) days of the date of this Order, the parties submit to this Court for consideration either a joint proposed notice, or competing options for notice including an indication as to which portions are agreed.
Redback Energy Services, LLC; Redback Coil Tubing, LLC; and the Redback executives will be collectively referred to as "Defendants."
Plaintiffs' initial proposed class did not exclude individuals who settled their claims in the Reynolds case and did not continue working for Defendants after the Reynolds settlement.
Defendants argue (Docket Entry 26, at 9-10) that Plaintiffs Jeremy Adams and Douglas Moneypenny claimed Redback employed them as "Hands/Operators" in another lawsuit against Defendants, and that they are therefore not similarly situated with Supervisors. See Douglas Moneypenny, et al. v. Redback Energy Services, et al. , SA-17-CV-00774-XR (W.D. Tex.). Defendants' argument fails. While Adams and Moneypenny were employed by Defendants as Hands/Operators for some period of time, they allege that they were employed as Supervisors at another period of time. (See Docket Entry 28, at 5.)
Prior cases involving similar matters can involve questions of collateral estoppel, see id. at 603-04, but none have been raised in this case.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- David LANEY, Jeremy Adams, Kevin Holmes, and Douglas Moneypenny, Individually and on Behalf of Others Similarly Situated v. REDBACK ENERGY SERVICES, LLC Redback Coil Tubing, LLC Mike Fernandez Paul Jacobi, Dante Domenichelli Phil Lancaster and Mark Layton
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published