Argento v. Sylvania Lighting Services Corp.

127 F. Supp. 3d 1060, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116249, 2015 WL 5120092
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedSeptember 1, 2015
DocketNo. 2:13-cv-0351-HRH
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 127 F. Supp. 3d 1060 (Argento v. Sylvania Lighting Services Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Argento v. Sylvania Lighting Services Corp., 127 F. Supp. 3d 1060, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116249, 2015 WL 5120092 (D. Ariz. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

Motion for Summary Judgment as to Claims Alleged by Plaintiffs Clifton Anthony, Hector Daza-Frias, Juan Forrellat. and Craig Zuchelkowski

H. Russel Holland, United States District Judge

Defendant moves for summary judgment on the claims alleged by plaintiffs Clifton Anthony, Hector Daza-Frias, Juan Forrellat, and Craig Zuchelkowski.1 This motion is opposed.2 Oral argument was requested by defendants. However, the issues before the court are largely legal in nature and have been well researched and briefed. Oral argument would not be helpful.3

Facts

Plaintiffs Clifton Anthony, Hector Daza-Frias, Juan Forrellat, and Craig Zuchel-kowski4 worked for defendant Sylvania Lighting Services Corporation on a lighting service project for the Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada. The CCSD project began in July 2011 and ended in January of 2012. Plaintiffs allege that they worked more than 40 hours per week while working on the CCSD project but that they were only paid for 40 hours of work per week no matter how many hours they actually worked.

On February 24, 2012, plaintiffs filed a complaint against defendant for unpaid overtime with the Nevada Labor Commission. The claims were referred to CCSD for investigation, which made a series of determinations, to which plaintiffs were al[1063]*1063lowed to object.5 A pre-hearing conference was held in March 2013, after which discovery was taken, and then a Final Hearing was held on January 22, 2014.6 On May 5, 2014, a Final Order was filed. The ALJ determined that plaintiffs were due overtime that they had not been paid.7 Zuchel-kowski was awarded $12,041.87 in back overtime wages; Anthony was awarded $10,292.16; Diaz-Frias was awarded $5,978.90; and Forrellat was awarded $6,119.52.8 The ALJ declined to assess any forfeitures against defendant, which are available under Nevada law “against a contractor where the worker is not paid the applicable prevailing wage rate for work performed on a prevailing wage project.”9 The ALJ declined to assess any forfeitures because they would have been retained by CCSD and the ALJ felt that such an assessment would be a windfall for CCSD “given [its] failure to meet [its] statutory responsibilities under NRS 338.070.”10 The ALJ also declined to assess any administrative fines or penalties against defendant, even though plaintiffs’ counsel argued that “such fines should be assessed' because Sylvania took this matter to hearing thereby costing each of the parties involved thousands of dollars in costs.”11 Because the determinations that CCSD made after its investigation favored defendant, the ALJ concluded that “[penalties will not be assessed against Sylvania simply because they elected to accept CCSD’s findings.”12

Although plaintiffs could have sought judicial review of the Final Order, no appeal was taken. Rather, plaintiffs signed release forms “in order to receive payment of the award....”13 The release provided that plaintiffs were discharging the “State of Nevada, the Department of Business & Industry, and the Office of the Labor Commissioner, ... and all other state and local agencies” from any claims “arising out of, or by reason of, the investigation of the allegations raised in this matter and other matters relating thereto.”14 Plaintiffs “waivefd] all rights to file any additional such claims, actions, etc, relating to such wage claim[s].”15

While the Nevada administrative proceedings were ongoing, this action was commenced. On December 20, 2013, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in which they assert a single FLSA overtime claim. Plaintiffs allege that “they worked more than forty hours in a workweek” and that defendant failed to pay them overtime.16

[1064]*1064More specifically, plaintiffs allege that “[t]hey worked an average of ten (10) to twelve (12) hours per workday.”17 Although not specifically alleged, these overtime claims appear to be based on pre- and post-shift work. And, plaintiffs Anthony and Zuchelkowski allege that from late August or early September 2011, “they worked between eleven (11) to fourteen (14) hours per day” because they became “designated drivers on the CCSD Project. ...”18 Plaintiffs also generally alleged that they were required to work during their unpaid meals breaks at times.19 Plaintiffs seek the overtime they contend they are due and liquidated damages in an amount equal to their unpaid overtime.

Defendant now moves for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ FLSA claims on the grounds that these claims are barred by res judicata because of the Final Order in the Nevada administrative proceedings. Defendant contends that allowing plaintiffs to pursue their FLSA claims could result in plaintiffs obtaining a double recovery.

Discussion

Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The initial burden is on the moving party to show that there is an absence of genuine issues of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the moving party meets its initial burden, then the non-moving party must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the court views the evidence of the non-movant in the light most favorable to that party, and all justifiable inferences are also to be drawn in its favor. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. “[T]he court’s ultimate inquiry is to determine whether the ‘specific facts’ set forth by the nonmoving party, coupled with undisputed background or contextual facts, are such that a rational or reasonable jury might return a verdict in its favor based on that evidence.” T.W. Elec. Service, Inc. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass’n, 809 F.2d 626, 631 (9th Cir.1987).

“The concept of res judicata embraces two doctrines, claim preclusion and issue preclusion (or collateral estoppel), that bar, respectively, a subsequent action or the subsequent litigation of a particular issue because of the adjudication of a prior action. McClain v. Apodaca, 793 F.2d 1031, 1033 (9th Cir.1986) (footnote omitted). Claim preclusion treats a judgment, once rendered, as the full measure of relief to be accorded between the same parties on the same claim or cause of action.” Id. , (footnote and citation omitted).

The threshold issue here is whether an unreviewed order from a state administrative agency or commission can be given preclusive effect in a FLSA case.

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Bluebook (online)
127 F. Supp. 3d 1060, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116249, 2015 WL 5120092, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/argento-v-sylvania-lighting-services-corp-azd-2015.