Flores v. Mamma Lombardis of Holbrook, Inc.

942 F. Supp. 2d 274, 2013 WL 1700932, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55968
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedApril 15, 2013
DocketNo. CV 12-3532
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 942 F. Supp. 2d 274 (Flores v. Mamma Lombardis of Holbrook, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flores v. Mamma Lombardis of Holbrook, Inc., 942 F. Supp. 2d 274, 2013 WL 1700932, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55968 (E.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WEXLER, District Judge.

This is a case brought pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 207 (the “FLSA”), and parallel provisions of the New York State Labor Law, seeking minimum wage and overtime compensation. Plaintiffs represent themselves and seek to represent a class of persons similarly situated. Presently before the court are Plaintiffs’ motions to dismiss Defendants’ counterclaim and to amend their complaint. The counterclaim sought to be dismissed seeks contribution from certain named Plaintiffs on the ground that if Defendants are found liable, these Plaintiffs should also be held liable as employers under the relevant statutory provisions. Plaintiffs* motion to amend seeks to add a claim for retaliation, and to change the definition of the covered class to add busboys and servers. For the reasons that follow, the motions are granted.

BACKGROUND

I. The Parties, the Allegations of the Complaint and The Counterclaim

Plaintiffs are current and former employees of Defendants who are alleged to own and operate the Defendant restaurants and catering businesses. Members of the Plaintiff class are alleged to be responsible for cooking and/or preparing food, washing dishes and cleaning the restaurants operated by Defendants. These employees are alleged to have been assigned to work, at various times, at each of the five locations operated by Defendants. Each of the individually named Plaintiffs is alleged to have regularly worked in excess of forty hours per week, but not to have been paid overtime wages as required by Federal and New York law. Defendants are also alleged to have failed to maintain proper records of hours works, to have denied certain Plaintiffs “spread of hours” pay under state law and to have been denied required time off for meals and breaks.

Plaintiffs’ first, cause of action alleges a violation of the FLSA for the failure to pay overtime wages. The second cause of action alleges a parallel cause of action pursuant to the New York Labor Law. Plaintiff Evelyn Lilian Fuentes (“Fuentes”) alleges the third and fourth causes of action for failure to pay her, and [276]*276those similarly situated, the required minimum wage under Federal and State law. Fuentes similarly alleges the fifth cause of action on behalf of herself and class members similarly situated, seeking spread of hours pay under New York law.

Defendants deny the allegations of Plaintiffs’ complaint and assert twenty-nine separate affirmative defenses. Among those affirmative defenses is the claim that Plaintiffs do not clearly and objectively define a plaintiff class and are not similarly situated to those they seek to represent. Defendants also assert a counterclaim against individual Plaintiffs Jamie Velasques (“Velasquez”), Edwin Hernandez (“Hernandez”) and Luis Juarez (“Juarez”) (collectively the “Counterclaim Defendants”). Defendants assert that the Counterclaim Defendants were employed as chefs who worked on a salaried basis. The individuals named are asserted to have exercised supervisory authority over other employees, including hiring, firing and scheduling hours. Each of the Counterclaim Defendants is further alleged to have been responsible for tracking the hours of their fellow employees and approval of time records. More specifically, Velasquez, Hernandez and Juarez are alleged to have been responsible for ensuring that their fellow workers had work time properly recorded, scheduling workers so that they did not work in excess of forty hours in any work week, and for ensuring that their co-workers were properly paid. Based upon these factual allegations, Defendants assert that the Counterclaim Defendants are employers, within the meaning of the FLSA and the New York Labor Law. The counterclaim goes on to allege that “[i]f defendants are found liable for damages, [Velasquez, Hernandez and Juarez] should be compelled to be responsible for paying all or part of such damages” as jointly responsible under both the FLSA and New York law. Counterclaim ¶ 227. Defendants allege further that:

[i]f defendants are found liable for damages, [Velasquez, Hernandez and Juarez] should be required to contribute any damages pursuant to and otherwise reimburse defendants for all or part of such damages pursuant to the remedial scheme of the FLSA governing the liability of joint employers and under the doctrine of contributory negligence and joint employer liability relating to any damages under the New York Labor law accruing to the extent not preempted by the FLSA.

Counterclaim ¶ 228.

II. The Motions

Plaintiffs seek dismissal of the Counterclaim on the ground that the Second Circuit has held clearly that there is no right to contribution under the FLSA, and no such right exists under the New York Labor Law. The motion to amend seeks to add busboys and food servers to the definition of the Plaintiff Class. Finally, Plaintiffs seek to amend the complaint to add causes of action for retaliation under Federal and State law. The proposed retaliation claim alleges that the assertion of baseless counterclaims constitute an act of retaliation for engaging in the protected activity of pursuing this lawsuit.

After outlining applicable law, and upon consideration of the facts set forth above in light of that law, the court will decide the merits of the motion.

DISCUSSION

I. Standards on Motion to Dismiss

To survive a motion to dismiss made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure a plaintiff is required to allege facts to state a claim to relief that is “plausible on its face.” Starr [277]*277v. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, 592 F.3d 314, 321 (2d Cir.2010), quoting, Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955; Davis v. NYC Dept. of Educ., 2012 WL 139255 *3 (E.D.N.Y.2012). This means that a pleading must allege “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citations omitted). Instead, “[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Id. (citations omitted). A claim will be deemed to have “facial plausibility” where it “pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). If the facts do not allow for an inference that goes further than “the mere possibility of misconduct” dismissal is appropriate. Id. at 1950, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

When deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court “aecept[s] as true all factual statements alleged in the complaint and draw[s] all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party.” Davis, 2012 WL 139255 at *3, quoting, McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp.,

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Bluebook (online)
942 F. Supp. 2d 274, 2013 WL 1700932, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55968, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flores-v-mamma-lombardis-of-holbrook-inc-nyed-2013.