Bass v. Brewer

431 S.W.2d 458, 245 Ark. 103, 1968 Ark. LEXIS 1165
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 9, 1968
Docket4624
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 431 S.W.2d 458 (Bass v. Brewer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bass v. Brewer, 431 S.W.2d 458, 245 Ark. 103, 1968 Ark. LEXIS 1165 (Ark. 1968).

Opinion

J. Fred Jones, Justice.

Mrs. Brewer brought suit in the Washington County Circuit Court against Howard Bass and Oscar Bass, d/b/a The Fayetteville Linen Supply, for overtime pay, unpaid wages and liquidated damages, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, Title 29, U.S.C.A. §§ 203-216. The trial court entered summary judgment for Mrs. Brewer on her motion therefor, and on appeal to this court Linen Supply relies on the following points for reversal:

“1. The lower court erred in finding there were no genuine issues of material facts regarding whether Mrs. Brewer was engaged in commerce or engaged in the production of goods for commerce or engaged in activities directly essential and closely related to the production of goods for commerce.
“2. The lower court erred in finding there were no genuine issues of material facts regarding Fayetteville Linen Supply’s claimed exemption from the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and thereby holding that Mrs. Brewer was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”

The entire proof of the facts alleged by Mrs. Brewer is contained in the answer to the complaint and the answers to interrogatories she propounded to Linen Supply. These answers establish an employer-employee relationship between the parties from March 19, 1965, until April 4, 1966, on an eight hour per day and forty hours per week basis. They establish that Mrs. Brewer’s duties consisted of feeding a flatwork ironer, folding the flatwork and pressing pants for which she was paid a regular hourly wage of 75 cents, later raised to 80 cents, then to 85 cents, and finally to 90 cents per hour. Overtime work at regular wage scale was also established.

Linen Supply stated, in answer to interrogatories, that it was primarily engaged in the business of laundering and renting linens and garments consisting of such items as small towels for cleaning counters and tables, turkish towels used by barbers and beauticians, hair cloths used by barbers, turkish towels for cleaning grills, covers for dining tables, table napkins, bib aprons worn by food processors and stock replinishers, pants and shirts worn by workmen, uniforms worn by nurses, waitresses, etc., smocks worn by barbers and pharmacists, butcher coats used by food processors, steward coats worn by houseboys, waiters, etc., shop towels used by garages for cleaning cloths, sheets and pillow cases used on daybeds for rest by some customers, and dust mops and mats used for dust control in business houses. Linen Supply stated that it purchased its stock of items from various concerns outside the state of Arkansas; that its gross income from business in 1965 amounted to $125,000 and in 1966 amounted to $156,000. Linen Supply answered that its ten largest customers for 1965, in the order of highest volume of business, were Campbell Soup Company, Ralston Purina Company, Tyson’s Foods, Inc., Lewis Ford Sales, Inc., Chicken Shack, Wheeler Volkswagen, IGA Thriftway Stores, Shipley Baking Company, Buck’s Vaccination Service, Burger Broil, and for the year 1966, such customers, in the same order of business volume were, Ralston Purina Company, Campbell Soup Company, Tyson’s Foods, Inc., Lewis Ford Sales, Inc., Chicken Shack, Prince Mfg. Co., Wheeler Volkswagen, IGA Stores, 62 Truck Stop, Fayetteville Country Club Kitchen.

As to out of state business, the record reveals answers to interrogatories as follows:

“Q. In what States, other than the State of Arkansas, does the defendant do business?
A. One stop in Missouri.”

Following np on the question of out of state business, additional interrogatories were propounded and answered as follows:

“Q. Calling attention to your answer to Interrogatory number 23, has the Fayetteville Linen Supply made this stop in Missouri in both the year 1965 and 1966? If the answer is ‘No’ please state the exact dates of all stops for the year in which calls were made.
A. From May 31, 1962 through December 1966.
Q. State the full name of firm name and address of the person or firm with whom business was conducted in Missouri.
A. Ralston Purina Company, Noel, Missouri.
Q. State separately for the year 1965 and 1966 your gross volume of business with this Missouri customer.
A. 1965 — $ 557.20 1966 — $2,529.46
Q. State separately for the year 1965 and 1966 your gross volume of business, to the nearest one-hundred, conducted with the following:
(a) Ralston Purina Co.
(b) Tyson’s Food, Inc.
(c) Lewis Ford Sales, Inc.
(d) Wheeler Volkswagen
(e) Prince Mfg. Co.
(f) 62 Truck Stop
A. 1965 1966
(a) Ralston Purina Co., May-Dec.
$2,454.00 $19,496.00
(b) Tyson’s Food, Inc., Not Available 6,061.00
(c) Lewis Ford Sales, Inc., Not Available 3,452.00
(d) "Wheeler Volkswagen, Dec. 257.00 2,532.00
(e) Prince Mfg. Co., Not Available 2,840.00
(f) 62 Truck Stop Not Available 2,067.00
Dated this 30th day of May, 1967.”

This constituted the evidence of record from which the trial court, as a matter of law, found Mrs. Brewer “to be engaged in commerce and/or engaged in the production of goods for commerce” and granted summary judgment on her motion therefor. We agree that the trial court erred on both points relied on for reversal.

The Arkansas Legislature adopted Buie 56 of Federal Buies of Civil Procedure governing summary judgments in 1961. Act 123 of 1961, Ark. Stat. Ann. § 29-211 (Bepl. 1962). Subsection (a) of § 29-211, insofar as it relates to this case, provides:

“. . . A party seeking to recover upon a claim, counter-claim, or crossclaim or to obtain a declatory judgment may, at any time after the expiration of 20 days from the commencement of the action or after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party, move with or without supporting affidavits, for a summary judgment in his favor upon all or any part thereof.”

Subsection (c) of § 29-211, as amended in 1967, and insofar as it relates to this case, provides:

“. . . The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law . .

In the case at bar, Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
431 S.W.2d 458, 245 Ark. 103, 1968 Ark. LEXIS 1165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bass-v-brewer-ark-1968.