Ayub v. Picco

293 F. Supp. 3d 215
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedMarch 13, 2018
DocketCase No. 17–cv–02132 (APM)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 293 F. Supp. 3d 215 (Ayub v. Picco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ayub v. Picco, 293 F. Supp. 3d 215 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

Amit P. Mehta, United States District Judge

I.

*216This matter arises out of Plaintiff Yesenia Ayub's work as a nanny for Defendants Lori A. Picco and Andrew J. Walker. On October 16, 2017, Plaintiff filed this action to recover unpaid overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") and the D.C. Minimum Wage Act. See Compl., ECF No. 1. Two months later, on December 18, 2017, Defendants responded with an Answer and four common law counterclaims-conversion, negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment-all of which assert various theories as to why Plaintiff owes money to Defendants. See Answer and Counterclaims, ECF No. 3. Thereafter, on January 4 and 5, 2018, respectively, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Dismiss Defendants' Counterclaims, ECF No. 5, and a First Amended Complaint, ECF No. 6. The Motion asserts that the court lacks supplemental jurisdiction over Defendants' state law counterclaims. See Mot. to Dismiss, Mem. in Support, ECF No. 5-1 [hereinafter Pl.'s Mem]. The amended pleading adds two new claims of retaliation, one under the FLSA and the other under the D.C. Minimum Wage Act, each premised on the allegation that Defendants filed their counterclaims in retaliation for Plaintiff's filing suit. See First Am. Compl. Defendants then answered the Amended Complaint and reasserted the same four counterclaims. See Answer to First Am. Compl. and Counterclaims, ECF No. 8.

II.

Before the court is Plaintiff's Motion to Dismiss Defendants' Counterclaims. See Mot. to Dismiss. The premise of Plaintiff's Motion is well-grounded. Many courts have held that state law counterclaims, like those asserted here, do not share a common nucleus of operative fact with federal wage claims, even when the counterclaims arise from the employment relationship. See Pl.'s Mem. at 3-5 (citing cases). Courts that have so held have recognized that "adjudicating counterclaims filed by an employer in the same context as a suit seeking unpaid wages may be inconsistent with the purpose of the FLSA-'to assure to the employees of a covered company a minimum level of wages.' " Slaughter v. Alpha Drugs, LLC , 907 F.Supp.2d 50, 54 (D.D.C. 2012) (quoting Martin v. PepsiAmericas, Inc. , 628 F.3d 738, 741 (5th Cir. 2010) ).

This case, however, differs from those cited by Plaintiff in one critical respect: Plaintiff's FLSA retaliation claim shares a "common nucleus of operative fact" with Defendants' counterclaims. See Lindsay v. Gov't Emps. Ins. Co. , 448 F.3d 416, 423-24 (D.C. Cir. 2006). "[S]tate law claims do not derive from a common nucleus of operative facts if there is almost no factual or legal overlap between the state and federal claims." Chelsea Condo. Unit Owners Ass'n v. 1815 A St., Condo Grp., LLC , 468 F.Supp.2d 136, 141 (D.D.C. 2007). But here there is a factual and legal overlap. Defendants surely will defend against the retaliation claims on the ground that they brought their counterclaims in good faith, and not to harass or intimidate Plaintiff for filing suit. Defendants' good faith, in turn, rests on the bona fides of their counterclaims. Viewed in this way, there can be little dispute that the FLSA retaliation claim and the counterclaims "derive from a common nucleus *217of operative fact" such that one "would ordinarily be expected to try them all in one judicial proceeding." United Mine Workers of Am. v. Gibbs , 383 U.S. 715, 725, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966).

Plaintiff rejects this conclusion, asserting that exercising supplemental jurisdiction as a result of Plaintiff's retaliation claim "rests on circular logic." Pl.'s Reply to Defs.' Opp'n, ECF No. 13, at 2 (citing Ozawa v. Orsini Design Assocs. , No. 13-cv-1282, 2015 WL 1055902, at *12 n.17 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 11, 2015) ). The court disagrees. "[W]hen a plaintiff files a complaint in federal court and then voluntarily amends the complaint, courts look to the amended complaint to determine jurisdiction." Rockwell Int'l Corp. v. United States , 549 U.S. 457, 473-74, 127 S.Ct. 1397, 167 L.Ed.2d 190 (2007). A district court therefore has "no obligation to consider jurisdictional bases set forth in prior iterations of the complaint." Mohammadi v. Islamic Republic of Iran , 782 F.3d 9, 18 (D.C. Cir. 2015). Thus, in this case, Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, not her original Complaint, drives the court's supplemental jurisdiction inquiry. Understood in that light, there is nothing "circular" about treating Plaintiff's FLSA retaliation claim and Defendants' state law counterclaims as arising from a common nucleus of operative fact.

Plaintiff also contends that "there are sound policy considerations" to reject exercising supplemental jurisdiction over Defendants' counterclaims. Pl.'s Reply at 2. She asserts that allowing such counterclaims to remain in federal court: (1) "risks rewarding employers who retaliate with baseless counterclaims by providing them a federal forum to wield those claims," and (2) "risks discouraging employees from [bringing] valid FLSA retaliation claims against employers who bring baseless counterclaims." Id. at 2-3.

Though not without surface appeal, Plaintiff's policy arguments are ultimately unpersuasive. It is unclear why any reasonable defendant would invite a retaliation claim merely to get its state law claims into federal court. The FLSA contains a specific damages provision that entitles a retaliation plaintiff to recover "such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of" the Act's anti-retaliation clause.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
293 F. Supp. 3d 215, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ayub-v-picco-cadc-2018.