Brock v. Cruz

357 F. Supp. 3d 581
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 24, 2019
DocketCivil Action No. 4:18-02732
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 357 F. Supp. 3d 581 (Brock v. Cruz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brock v. Cruz, 357 F. Supp. 3d 581 (S.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

NANCY F. ATLAS, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Pending before the Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) ("Motion to Dismiss" or "Motion") [Doc. # 18]. Plaintiffs have filed a response,1 and Defendants have replied.2 The Motion is now ripe for decision. Based on the parties' briefing, relevant pleading, and pertinent legal authorities, the Court grants the Motion and dismisses the case with prejudice .

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural Background

This case is a Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") suit filed by Plaintiffs Nena Brock, Angela Couvillion, Charles Hamilton, and Geraldine Palmer to recover unpaid overtime. Defendants Adelaida Cruz and Renato Cruz have twice moved to dismiss Plaintiffs' lawsuit, see Docs. # 5, # 9, and Plaintiffs have twice amended their complaint in response, see Docs. # 6, # 14. Defendants move to dismiss a third time, asserting, among other things, that Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint [Doc. # 14] does not plead facts demonstrating Plaintiffs are entitled to FLSA protection. See Motion [Doc. # 18], at 4.

B. Factual Background

In their Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that from at least January 1, 2015, to about July 27, 2017, they worked for Defendants as Licensed Vocational Nurses ("LVN"). Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint [Doc. # 14], ¶ 8. According to Plaintiffs, Defendants operated an unnamed medical staffing agency which supplied LVN staffing support to various hospitals and other businesses throughout the Houston area. Id. ¶ 9. Plaintiffs' job duties included monitoring patients' vital signs, recording patients' intake of foods and output of fluids, dressingwounds, *585treating bedsores, and monitoring patient responses to medications and treatment. Id. ¶ 8. In completing these tasks, Plaintiffs claim they used various supplies and equipment which were allegedly transported and purchased from other states through interstate commerce, such as stethoscopes, otoscopes, thermometers, and blood pressure apparatuses, among others. Id.

According to Plaintiffs, Defendants' unnamed business "engaged in hospital operations and focused on caring for sick and aged individuals." Id. ¶ 9. These sick and aged individuals allegedly traveled in from out of state. Id. Defendants' business, during the relevant year-and-a-half time period, employed more than two individuals and "had more than $500,000 in gross revenue." Id. Defendants set Plaintiffs' work schedules and hired, supervised, and evaluated Plaintiffs. Id. Defendants allegedly determined Plaintiffs' rate of pay for each staffing assignment and maintained all of Plaintiffs' employment records. Id.

Plaintiffs allege they "typically worked a significant amount of overtime," "routinely" working "in excess of 40 hours per seven-day workweek." Id. ¶¶ 10, 17. Plaintiffs allege they were paid the same hourly rate for all hours worked, even those over 40 in a workweek. Id. ¶ 10. Defendants allegedly represented to Plaintiffs that they did not have to pay overtime because Plaintiffs were independent contractors, an assertion Plaintiffs claim is false. Id.

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) is viewed with disfavor and is rarely granted. Turner v. Pleasant , 663 F.3d 770, 775 (5th Cir. 2011) (citing Harrington v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. , 563 F.3d 141, 147 (5th Cir. 2009) ). The complaint must be liberally construed in favor of the plaintiff, and all facts pleaded in the complaint must be taken as true. Harrington , 563 F.3d at 147. The complaint must, however, contain sufficient factual allegations, as opposed to legal conclusions, to state a claim for relief that is "plausible on its face." See Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ; Patrick v. Wal-Mart, Inc. , 681 F.3d 614, 617 (5th Cir. 2012).

When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should presume they are true, even if doubtful, and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief. Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. Rule 8 "generally requires only a plausible 'short and plain' statement of the plaintiff's claim, not an exposition of his legal argument." Skinner v. Switzer , 562 U.S. 521, 530, 131 S.Ct. 1289, 179 L.Ed.2d 233 (2011). Additionally, regardless of how well-pleaded the factual allegations may be, they must demonstrate that the plaintiff is entitled to relief under a valid legal theory. See Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989) ; McCormick v. Stalder, 105 F.3d 1059

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Bluebook (online)
357 F. Supp. 3d 581, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brock-v-cruz-txsd-2019.