Evans v. D. Cefalu Management, Inc.

274 F. Supp. 3d 1332
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 7, 2017
DocketCASE NO. 16-60613-CIV-ZLOCH
StatusPublished

This text of 274 F. Supp. 3d 1332 (Evans v. D. Cefalu Management, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Evans v. D. Cefalu Management, Inc., 274 F. Supp. 3d 1332 (S.D. Fla. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM J. ZLOCH Sr., United States District Judge

THIS MATTER is before the Court upon Defendants’ Motion For Summary Judgment (DE 26). The Court has carefully reviewed said Motion, the entire court file and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.

I. Background

Plaintiff Troy Evans (hereinafter “Plaintiff’) initiated the above-styled cause with the filing of his Complaint (DE 1), alleging a single claim against Defendants D. Cefa-lu Management, Inc., and Christine Difiore Kirsch (hereinafter “Defendants”) for failure to pay overtime compensation in accord with the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. (hereinafter “the FLSA”).

The following facts are undisputed, on the record,1 because Plaintiff elected to disregard Local Rule 56.1(b)’s abundantly clear warning that “All material facts set forth in the movant’s statement filed and supported as required above will be deemed admitted unless controverted by the opposing part/s statement, provided that the Court finds that the movant’s statement is supported by evidence in the record.” S.D. Fla. L.R. 56.1(b). See also Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2) (“If a party fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address another party’s assertion of fact” “the court may ... (2) [1333]*1333consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion.”).2 Defendant D. Cefalu Management, Inc. (hereinafter “Defendant Cefalu”), .is a, pizza restaurant in Plantation, Florida* with only one location, and Plaintiff worked as a cook for Defendant Cefalu from January 2015 through March 2016. Plaintiffs Statement Of Claim (DE 8), however, describes the time frame as from approximately January 5, 2015, to approximately February 1, 2016. Defendants have provided a description of how Plaintiff was paid, with accompanying documentation. As thé Court has noted, Plaintiff has chosen not to dispute Defendants’ version of the facts, which are supported by its attached records. The Parties dispute, through legal argument alone, whether Defendant Cefalu is covered by the FLSA’s enterprise definition and thus required to abide by its wage and overtime provisions. 29 U.S.C. § 203(s). This dispute is completely irrelevant to the resolution of the instant Motion (DE 26). The Court finds another of Defendants’ arguments to be availing and thus, that it is unnecessary to wade into the deeper waters of whether Defendant Cefalu is an “enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce” under the FLSA. Id. Defendants demonstrate in their Motion (DE 26) and Statement Of Undisputed Material Facts (DE 27) that whether or not Defendant Cefalu was covered by the FLSA, Plaintiff has already received all compensation to which he would be entitled under the FLSA’s overtime provision.

II. Standard of Review

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a), summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” The party seeking summary judgment

'always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court .of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)(quo-tation omitted). “An issue of fact is ‘material’ if, under the applicable substantive law, it might affect the outcome of the case. An issue of fact is ‘genuine’ if the record taken as a whole could lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmov-ing party.” Hickson Corp. v. N. Crossarm Co., Inc., 357 F.3d 1256, 1259-60 (11th Cir. 2004) (citing Allen v. Tyson Foods, 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir. 1997)) (further citations omitted). “Only .when that burden has been met does the burden shift to the non-moving party to demonstrate that there is indeed a material issue of fact that precludes summary judgment.” Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir. 1991); Avirgan v. Hull, 932 F.2d 1572, 1577 (11th Cir. 1991). “If the movant succeeds in demonstrating the absence of a material fact, the burden shifts to the non-movant to show the existence of a genuine issue of fact.” Burger King Corp. v. E-Z Eating, 41 Corp., 572 F.3d 1306, 1313 (11th Cir. 2009) (citing Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1116 (11th Cir. 1993)).

[1334]*1334The moving party is entitled to “judgment as a matter of law” when the non-moving party fails to make a sufficient showing of an essential element of the case to which the non-moving party has-the burden of proof. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Everett v. Napper, 833 F.2d 1507, 1510 (11th Cir. 1987). All justifiable inferences are to be drawn in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

III. Analysis

In addition to failing to respond to Defendants’ Statement Of Undisputed Material Facts (DE 27), Plaintiff utterly fails, in his Response To Defendants’ Motion For Summary Judgment (DE 43), to even oppose by argument in any fashion Defendants’ conclusion that, “The math works out this way [payment by.the hour of initially $13 an hour, increased to $14 an hour, and overtime pay of one and one-half times the applicable hourly rate] for each week, and thus Plaintiff was paid for all of his overtime, and he knows this.” DE 27, ¶10. Plaintiff believes that Defendants’ Motion (DE 26) was premature. The Court remains at a loss to understand why a summary judgment motion filed a mere few weeks before the deadline set by the Court should be deemed premature. See DE 16. Plaintiff mentions further discovery he seeks at the time of the filing of this Response (DE 43). But, without opposing Defendants’ factually supported and documented contention that Plaintiff was paid in accord with the FLSA, the discovery solely related to the determination of Defendant Cefalu’s enterprise coverage is not relevant, much less capable of supporting the assertion that Defendants’ Motion (DE 26) is premature under

Related

Hickson Corp. v. Northern Crossarm Co.
357 F.3d 1256 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
Burger King Corp. v. E-Z Eating, 41 Corp.
572 F.3d 1306 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta
2 F.3d 1112 (Eleventh Circuit, 1993)
Everett v. Napper
833 F.2d 1507 (Eleventh Circuit, 1987)
Avirgan v. Hull
932 F.2d 1572 (Eleventh Circuit, 1991)

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Bluebook (online)
274 F. Supp. 3d 1332, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/evans-v-d-cefalu-management-inc-flsd-2017.