Addison v. Reitman Blacktop, Inc.

283 F.R.D. 74, 2011 WL 4336693, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106150
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 9, 2011
DocketNo. 10-CV-1435 (ADS)(ARL)
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 283 F.R.D. 74 (Addison v. Reitman Blacktop, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Addison v. Reitman Blacktop, Inc., 283 F.R.D. 74, 2011 WL 4336693, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106150 (E.D.N.Y. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

On April 2, 2010, Christopher Addison and David Willet commenced this action against their former employer Reitman Blacktop, Inc., Reitman Sealeoating Inc. (“the Corporate Defendants”), and Robert Reitman (“Reitman” and together with the Corporate Defendants “the Defendants”) alleging that the Defendants violated the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. (“FLSA”), the New York Labor Law (“Labor Law”), and the New York common law, specifically alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment (“Initial Complaint”). On September 22, 2010, Addison and Willet filed an amended complaint (“First Amended Complaint”) adding James Yanderheydt as an additional plaintiff (together with Addison and Willet the “Plaintiffs”).

Presently before this Court are two motions: (1) the Plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) to add B. Reitman Blacktop, Inc. and B. Reitman, Inc. as defendants and (2) the Defendants’ cross-motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). For the reasons set forth below, the Plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint is granted and the Defendants’ cross-motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint is denied as moot.

I. BACKGROUND

The relevant facts of this case are set forth in the Court’s previous decision Addison v. Reitman Blacktop, Inc. (“Reitman I”), 272 F.R.D. 72 (E.D.N.Y.2010). The Court assumes the parties familiarity with that decision. However, a brief review of the factual and procedural background of this case is in order.

The Plaintiffs in this action were formerly employed by the Defendants as laborers in the construction industry, performing manual labor related to asphalt, paving, and driveway construction. The Plaintiffs’ allege that during their employment, the Defendants failed to pay them a minimum wage; failed to properly record their hours; failed to provide break time; and failed to pay them for overtime work. On April 2, 2010, the plaintiffs Addison and Willet filed the Initial Complaint, asserting causes of action for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract.

The procedural history of this case is set out in detail in the Court’s order in Reitman I. In short, after some confusion as to the date at which the Defendants answer was due, on July 16, 2010, Reitman submitted an [78]*78answer to the Initial Complaint on behalf of himself and the Corporate Defendants. On July 21, 2010, the Plaintiffs—who at that time only included Addison and Willet— moved to strike the answer on the grounds that Reitman, who is not an attorney, was precluded from appearing on behalf of the Corporate Defendants. On August 8, 2010, Reitman submitted a letter to the Court requesting a thirty day extension to respond to the motion and to retain an attorney to represent himself and the Corporate Defendants. On August 10, 2010, the Court granted Reitman’s request and noted that it was a “Final Extension.”

Thereafter, the Defendants attempted to retain counsel and the parties engaged in discussions with regard to extending the Defendants time to answer the Initial Complaint and a potential settlement. See Reitman I, 272 F.R.D. 72, 75 (E.D.N.Y.2010). Following the breakdown of those discussions, on September 22, 2010, the Plaintiffs filed the First Amended Complaint adding James Yanderheydt as a plaintiff. The Plaintiffs filed the First Amended Complaint without seeking leave of the Court as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a). Nevertheless, the Defendants did not respond to the Amended Complaint, and on October 20, 2010 the Plaintiffs moved for an entry of default, which was entered by the Clerk of the Court on November 3, 2010.

Subsequently on November 8, 2010, the Defendants moved to set aside the entry of default and submitted an answer to the First Amended Complaint. Thus, before the Court in Reitman I were three motions: 1) Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike the Defendants’ Answer to the Initial Complaint; 2) Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Default Judgment; and 3) Defendants’ Motion to Set Aside the Default Judgment. Ultimately, the Court vacated the entry of default and denied the Plaintiffs’ motion for a default judgment “[i]n light of the Court’s analysis of the relevant considerations and this Circuit’s well-established preference for litigating disputes on the merits”. Reitman I, 272 F.R.D. at 82. Furthermore, because the Defendants had filed an answer to the First Amended Complaint, and did not object to the procedural deficiency in the Plaintiffs’ filing of the First Amended Complaint, the Court denied the Motion to Strike as moot.

In conjunction with the motion to set aside the default, the Defendants raised as a potential “meritorious defense” the contention that the Plaintiffs had sued the wrong corporate entities, and that the correct defendant was “B. Reitman Blacktop, Inc.”. In response, the Plaintiff argued that “even if Defendant Reitman is affiliated with yet more corporate entities all apparently engaged in essentially the same business and there is in fact a corporate entity called ‘B. Reitman Blacktop Inc.,’ such an entity would be an additional defendant along with the other entities which are all involved in the same ‘single integrated enterprise’ under the law____” (Pls.’ Default Opp. at 5.) To the extent the Plaintiffs had failed to identify a proper defendant, the Plaintiffs requested “permission to add” additional defendants. (Id.) In the Court’s decision in Reitman I, the Court denied the Plaintiffs’ “informal request” to amend the complaint and directed them to “follow the proper procedure in seeking to amend the complaint.” Reitman I, 272 F.R.D. at 82.

Thus, on January 18, 2011, the Plaintiffs’ filed the instant motion to amend to add additional defendants. The Proposed Second Amended Complaint voluntarily dismisses the Plaintiffs’ claims for unjust enrichment and breach of contract, and asserts the remaining claims against two additional defendants, namely B. Reitman Blacktop, Inc. and B. Reitman, Inc. In conjunction with their opposition to the instant motion, the Defendants filed a cross-motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) in the event the Court denied the Plaintiffs’ motion to amend. As set forth below, the Court grants the Plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint and therefore denies the Defendants’ cross-motion to dismiss as moot.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Legal Standard on a Motion to Amend

Pursuant to Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may [79]*79amend its pleading by leave of court and leave to amend “shall be freely given when justice so requires.” Fed.R.Civ.P.

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283 F.R.D. 74, 2011 WL 4336693, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/addison-v-reitman-blacktop-inc-nyed-2011.