Flood v. Carlson Restaurants Inc.

94 F. Supp. 3d 572, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40170, 2015 WL 1396257
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 27, 2015
DocketNo. 14 Civ. 2740(AT)
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 94 F. Supp. 3d 572 (Flood v. Carlson Restaurants Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flood v. Carlson Restaurants Inc., 94 F. Supp. 3d 572, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40170, 2015 WL 1396257 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

[575]*575 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ANALISA TORRES, District Judge:

Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, allege that Defendants, Carlson Restaurants Inc., Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., and T.G.I. Friday’s Inc., violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., the New York Labor Law (“NYLL”), the New Jersey Wage and Hour Law, and the Massachusetts Wage Laws.1 Defendants move to transfer this action to the Northern District of Texas and to partially dismiss Plaintiffs’ FLSA minimum wage claim. For the reasons stated below, the motions are DENIED.

BACKGROUND2

Jamel Flood, Ira Heaston, Isaac Hea-ston, Tashauna Reid, Patrick Pink, Eury Espinal, and Jose Fernandez (collectively, the “Named Plaintiffs”) are former tipped employees at T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants owned and/or operated by Defendants. Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 50-51, 55-56, GO-62, 66-67, 71-72, 81-82, 86-88, ECF No. 138. The Named Plaintiffs worked at T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Florida, id. ¶¶ 50, 55, 60-61, 66, 71, 81, 86-87, and reside in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, id. ¶¶ 49, 54, 59, 65, 70, 80, 85. Defendants’ principal executive offices are located in Carrollton, Texas, id. ¶¶ 98, 106, 115, which is in the Northern District of Texas. Plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that Defendants violated the FLSA by paying “tipped workers” (e.g., servers, bussers, runners, bartenders, barbaeks, and hosts), id. ¶ 1, the “tipped minimum wage rate rather than ... the full hourly minimum wage rate,” despite requiring these workers to spend more than twenty percent of their shifts performing “side work” not directed toward producing tips, id. ¶ 358.

DISCUSSION

1. Motion to Transfer

A. Legal Standard

“For the convenience of parties and witnesses, in the interest of justice, a district court may transfer any civil action to any other district or division where it might have been brought or to any district or division to which all parties have consented.” 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). “District courts have broad discretion in making determinations of convenience under Section 1404(a) and notions of convenience and fairness are considered on a case-by-case basis.” D.H. Blair & Co. v. Gottdiener, 462 F.3d 95, 106 (2d Cir.2006). The party seeking transfer bears the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that transfer is appropriate. New York Marine & Gen. Ins. Co. v. Lafarge [576]*576N. Am., Inc., 599 F.3d 102, 114 (2d Cir.2010).

To determine whether transfer is warranted, a district court engages in a two-step inquiry. In re Collins & Aikman Corp. Sec. Litig., 438 F.Supp.2d 392, 394 (S.D.N.Y.2006). “First, the court must determine whether the action sought to be transferred is one that might have been brought in the transferee court. Second, the court must evaluate ... several factors relating to the convenience of transfer and the interests of justice.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The factors to be considered at the second step include:

(1) the plaintiffs choice of forum, (2) the convenience of witnesses, (3) the location of relevant documents and relative ease of access to sources of proof, (4) the convenience of parties, (5) the locus of operative facts, (6) the availability of process to compel the attendance of unwilling witnesses, and (7) the relative means of the parties.

New York Marine, 599 F.3d at 112 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). In addition, courts commonly consider “the forum’s familiarity with the governing law” and “trial efficiency and the interests of justice, based on the totality of circumstances.” Greenwich Life Settlements, Inc. v. ViaSource Funding Grp., LLC, 742 F.Supp.2d 446, 459 (S.D.N.Y.2010). “There is no rigid formula for balancing these factors and no single one of them is determinative. Instead, weighing the balance is essentially an equitable task left to the [c]ourt’s discretion.” Citigroup Inc. v. City Holding Co., 97 F.Supp.2d 549, 561 (S.D.N.Y.2000) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

B. Convenience of Transfer and the Interests of Justice3

i. Plaintiffs’ Choice of Forum

“A plaintiffs choice of forum is entitled to significant consideration and will not be disturbed unless other factors weigh strongly in favor of transfer.” Hershman v. UnumProvident Corp., 658 F.Supp.2d 598, 601 (S.D.N.Y.2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). When a plaintiff chooses a forum other than her home forum, however, the court must consider the reasons for the plaintiffs decision. Id. “[T]he more such a decision is ‘dictated by reasons that the law recognizes as valid, the greater the deference that will be given to’ it; the more it appears the decision is ‘motivated by forum shopping reasons,’ the less deference will be accorded to it.” Id. (quoting Iragorri v. United Techs. Corp., 274 F.3d 65, 73 (2d Cir.2001)).

Although none of the Named Plaintiffs reside in the Southern District of New York, Flood’s claims arose from his employment in this District, which mitigates any inference of forum shopping and entitles his choice of forum to deference. See, e.g., Koslofsky v. Santaturs, Inc., 10 Civ. 9160, 2011 WL 10894856, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 18, 2011) (“[A] plaintiffs chosen venue is ... entitled [to] more weight when there is a material connection between the forum state and the events allegedly underlying the claim.”). Moreover, the majority of the Named Plaintiffs live in the New York metropolitan area, which makes the Southern District of New York a convenient forum. See Iragorri, 274 F.3d at 73 (noting that “the plaintiffs convenience” is a “legitimate reason[ ]” for choosing a particular forum). Finally, there is no evidence [577]*577that Plaintiffs selected the Southern District of New York to gain some improper advantage.

Defendants nevertheless argue that Plaintiffs’ choice of forum should not be afforded deference because Plaintiffs assert their claims on an aggregate basis. Def. Mem. 12-14, ECF No. 39. The Court disagrees, as “the ‘opt-in’ structure of [FLSA] collective actions ... strongly suggests that Congress intended to give plaintiffs considerable control over the bringing of a FLSA action.” Koslofsky, 2011 WL 10894856, at *2 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Thus, a “[plaintiff’s choice of forum in a FLSA collective action is entitled [to] more deference than the choice of forum in Rule 23 national class actions.” Id. Here, Plaintiffs are pursuing their FLSA claims as a collective action, not a Rule 23 class action. Because Plaintiffs’ choice of forum is entitled to deference, the Court concludes that this factor weighs against transfer.

ii. Convenience of Witnesses

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94 F. Supp. 3d 572, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40170, 2015 WL 1396257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flood-v-carlson-restaurants-inc-nysd-2015.