Costello v. Home Depot USA, Inc.

944 F. Supp. 2d 199, 2013 WL 2097422, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71196
District Court, D. Connecticut·Decided May 13, 2013·No. Civil Action No. 3:11-CV-953 (JCH)·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

RULING RE: PLAINTIFFS’ RENEWED MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. No. 90)

JANET C. HALL, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs James Costello and Aron Moore bring this action against defendant Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (“Home Depot”), alleging that they were not paid for overtime work in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 207, because they were misclassified as “exempt” employees. Plaintiffs filed this Renewed Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to the proper method of determining overtime (“Pis.’ Mot. Renewed Partial Summ. J.”) (Doc. No. 90).

This Motion was filed the same day as Home Depot’s Motions for Summary Judgment as to the claims against it (Doc. Nos. 93, 98). Soon thereafter, the parties filed a Joint Motion to Adjourn the Briefing Deadlines as to this Renewed Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 103) pending resolution of Home Depot’s Motions for Summary Judgment. That Motion was granted. See Doc. No. 104. On March 5, 2013, 928 F.Supp.2d 473, 2013 WL 837586 (D.Conn.2013), the court denied Home Depot’s Motions for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 120) and ordered the resumption of the briefing schedule regarding the instant Renewed Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.

For the following reasons, the court grants in part the Renewed Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion for summary judgment “may properly be granted ... only where there is no genuine issue of material fact to be tried, and the facts as to which there is no such issue warrant judgment for the mov[201]*201ing party as a matter of law.” In re Dana Corp., 574 F.3d 129, 151 (2d Cir.2009). Thus, the role of a district court in considering such a motion “is not to resolve disputed questions of fact but only to determine whether, as to any material issue, a genuine factual dispute exists.” Id. In making this determination, the trial court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all inferences in favor of the party against whom summary judgment is sought. See Loeffler v. Staten Island Univ. Hosp., 582 F.3d 268, 274 (2d Cir.2009).

“[T]he moving party bears the burden of showing that he or she is entitled to summary judgment.” United Transp. Union v. Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp., 588 F.3d 805, 809 (2d Cir.2009). Once the moving party has satisfied that burden, in order to defeat the motion, “the party opposing summary judgment may not merely rest on the allegations or denials of his pleading; rather his response, by affidavits or otherwise as provided in the Rule, must set forth ‘specific facts’ demonstrating that there is ‘a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Wright v. Goord, 554 F.3d 255, 266 (2d Cir.2009) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). “A dispute about a ‘genuine issue’ exists for summary judgment purposes where the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could decide in the non-movant’s favor.” Beyer v. County of Nassau, 524 F.3d 160, 163 (2d Cir.2008) (quoting Guilbert v. Gardner, 480 F.3d 140, 145 (2d Cir.2007)); see also Havey v. Homebound Mortg., Inc., 547 F.3d 158, 163 (2d Cir.2008) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)) (stating that a non-moving party must point to more than a mere “scintilla” of evidence in order to defeat a motion for summary judgment).

III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

James Costello and Aron Moore were each employed by Home Depot as an Assistant Store Manager (“ASM”). See Plaintiffs’ Local Rule 56(a)(1) Statement (“Pis.’ 56(a)(1)”) (Doc. No. 92) at ¶ 1; Defendant’s Local Rule 56(a)(2) Statement (“Defi’s 56(a)(2)”) (Doc. No. 123) at ¶1. Home Depot did not pay plaintiffs overtime while they were employed as ASMs. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 2; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶2. While plaintiffs were employed as ASMs, Home Depot paid plaintiffs on a salary basis for all hours worked in a work week regardless of the number of hours they worked. Id.

When Costello was promoted to ASM, he did not negotiate his salary. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 3; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 3. The parties do not appear to dispute that Costello never discussed whether his salary included an overtime premium for the hours he was expected to work over 40, but do appear to dispute whether this implies that Costello did not understand whether he would be paid overtime. Id. When Moore was hired as an ASM, his salary was not negotiated, and there was no discussion of whether his salary included an overtime premium, although the parties appear to dispute whether this implies that Moore did not understand whether or not he would be paid overtime. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 4; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 4.

While plaintiffs were employed as ASMs, Home Depot classified plaintiffs as exempt from overtime pay under the executive exemption provided by the FLSA and parallel state and commonwealth laws. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 5; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 5.1 [202]*202In determining the exempt status of the ASM position, Home Depot relied, at least in part, on the job description. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 6; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 6. The parties dispute whether they had a contractual agreement that limited the number of hours plaintiffs worked as ASMs. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 7; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 7.2 The parties also dispute whether the plaintiffs were required to work 55 hours per week, or whether the plaintiffs were merely generally scheduled to work 55 hours per week and could realistically expect an average work week to last 55 hours. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 7; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 7.

The parties dispute whether Moore ever worked less than 40 hours per week, and whether he averaged between 60 and 70 hours of work a week. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 8; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 8.3 The parties dispute whether Costello ever worked less than 40 hours per week, and whether he averaged between 60 and 80 hours of work per week. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 9; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 9.4

Home Depot did not pay the plaintiffs any overtime for any hours worked over 40 hours in a week. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 10; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 10. The parties dispute whether Home Depot calculated a regular rate of pay for the plaintiffs and, if it did, whether it used a 40 hour work week as a measure for doing so. Pis.’ 56(a)(1) at ¶ 11; Def.’s 56(a)(2) at ¶ 11.

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Costello v. Home Depot USA, Inc., 944 F. Supp. 2d 199, 2013 WL 2097422, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71196 (D. Conn. 2013).

944 F. Supp. 2d 199 (Costello v. Home Depot USA, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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