Bartleson v. Winnebago Industries, Inc.

219 F.R.D. 629, 9 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 460, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23246, 2003 WL 23021949
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedDecember 24, 2003
DocketNo. C 02-3008-MWB
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 219 F.R.D. 629 (Bartleson v. Winnebago Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bartleson v. Winnebago Industries, Inc., 219 F.R.D. 629, 9 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 460, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23246, 2003 WL 23021949 (N.D. Iowa 2003).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION AND DEFENDANT’S OBJECTIONS TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S ORDER

BENNETT, Chief Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION..........................................................631

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS........................................................632

A. The Objections To The Order Granting Leave To Amend..................632

1. Standard Of Review ...............................................633

2. Arguments of the parties...........................................633

3. Analysis..........................................................633

a. “Futility” of the proffered amendment................1..........633

b. Supplemental jurisdiction over the proffered class claim..........634

i. Supplemental jurisdiction and exceptions...................634

ii. The Fielder decision ......................................635

iii. Application of Fielder.....................................636

B. The Motion For Certification Of The IWPCL Class.......................638

III. CONCLUSION..................... ......................................639

This is a class action for overtime pay pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., and the Iowa Wage Payment Collection Law (IWPCL), Iowa Code Ch. 91A. This matter comes before the court pursuant to the plaintiffs September 5, 2003, Motion For Class Certification (docket no. 38), which seeks certification of a class on the IWPCL claim pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and pursuant to the defendant’s November 7, 2003, Objections To Magistrate Judge’s Order (docket no. 50), which challenges the October 24, 2003, order by Magistrate Judge Paul A. Zoss (docket no. 48) in which Judge Zoss granted the plaintiffs motion to amend her Complaint to assert the IWPCL class action claim.

I. INTRODUCTION

Before addressing the pending motions', a brief statement of the factual and procedural background to the present lawsuit is appropriate. Ms. Bartleson filed her original Complaint in this action on January 28, 2002, seeking redress of violations of the FLSA and the Equal Pay Act (EPA), 29 U.S.C. § 206. Bartleson’s FLSA claim, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, is premised on her contention that Winnebago has failed to pay the class members overtime pay by wrongfully classifying them as “exempt” administrative or executive employees under 29 U.S.C. § 213. Bartleson’s EPA claim is an individual claim alleging disparate pay based on sex. Winnebago answered the original Complaint on March 14, 2002. On July 29, 2002, Bartleson sought leave of the court to notify potential class members of the FLSA class action, and on September 24, 2002, the court entered an order approving the parties’ stipulated notice to potential class members. Although the parties had identified more than five hundred potential class members, only twenty additional plaintiffs “opted into” the FLSA class action from December 2002 through April 2003.1

Bartleson filed her first Amended Complaint on November 18, 2002, adding an individual claim of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, [632]*632as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e. On November 26, 2002, upon Winnebago’s unresisted motion, the court severed Bartleson’s individual claims, including her EPA and Title VII claims, and this action proceeded only on the FLSA class action claim. Winnebago answered the Amended Complaint on December 20, 2002.

On September 5, 2003, Bartleson again moved to amend her Complaint to add a class action claim for overtime wages pursuant to the Iowa Wage Payment Collection Law (IWPCL), IOWA CODE CH. 91A (docket no. 37). The proffered IWPCL claim again seeks recovery of overtime wages allegedly owed to the class members under the FLSA, but pursuant to the procedures and remedies in the IWPCL. Also on September 5, 2003, Bartleson filed her Motion For Class Certification (docket no. 38), seeking certification of a Rule 23 class on her IWPCL claim. Bar-tleson’s original motion to amend was denied without prejudice on September 5, 2003, for failure to comply with local rules, so Bartle-son filed a renewed motion to amend on September 11, 2003 (docket no. 41). Although Winnebago resisted the motion on September 22, 2003 (docket no. 42), Magistrate Judge Paul A. Zoss granted the renewed motion to amend by order dated October 24, 2003 (docket no. 48) (also available at Bartleson v. Winnebago Indus., Inc., 2003 WL 22427817 (N.D.Iowa Oct.24, 2003) (slip op.)). Bartleson’s motion for certification of the IWPCL class, however, remained pending.

On November 7, 2003, Winnebago filed its Objections To Magistrate Judge’s Order (docket no. 50), which challenges Judge Zoss’s October 24, 2003, ruling. Bartleson sent the court a courtesy copy of a response to the defendant’s objections on December 11, 2003, and a copy of that response was subsequently filed with the Clerk of Court on December 15, 2003 (docket no. 56). On December 19, 2003, Bartleson sent the court a courtesy copy of a Substituted And Amended Response To Defendant’s Memorandum Of Its Objection To Magistrate Judge’s Order, which was filed on December 22, 2003 (docket no. 58). The court heard oral arguments on Winnebago’s objections to Judge Zoss’s order and Bartleson’s motion for certification of the IWPCL class on December 19, 2003.2 Both matters are now ripe for disposition.

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS

The issues of whether or not to certify a class on the IWPCL claim and whether or not to allow amendment of Bartleson’s Complaint to assert the IWPCL claim at all are intertwined. Logically, however, the court must first decide whether or not Judge Zoss properly granted Bartleson’s motion for leave to amend her Complaint to assert the IWPCL claim. Only if the court affirms the order granting leave to assert the IWPCL claim will it be necessary for the court to address Bartleson’s motion for certification of a class on that claim. Moreover, even if the motion to amend is granted, the extent to which the court can entertain the IWPCL claim may dictate whether class certification is proper on that claim.

A. The Objections To The Order Granting Leave To Amend
1. Standard Of Review

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Bluebook (online)
219 F.R.D. 629, 9 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 460, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23246, 2003 WL 23021949, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bartleson-v-winnebago-industries-inc-iand-2003.