Fontenberry v. MV Transportation, Inc.

984 F. Supp. 2d 1062, 2013 WL 6182587, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168576
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedNovember 25, 2013
DocketNo. 12-cv-01996 TLN-EFB
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 984 F. Supp. 2d 1062 (Fontenberry v. MV Transportation, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fontenberry v. MV Transportation, Inc., 984 F. Supp. 2d 1062, 2013 WL 6182587, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168576 (E.D. Cal. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

TROY L. NUNLEY, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Ninth claim under California’s Unfair Competition Act, Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 17200 et seq.1 (Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 34.) Plaintiffs oppose the motion.2 (Opp’n to Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 42.) Defendant submitted a reply in response. (Def.’s Reply in Support of Mot. to Dismiss, ECF No. 45.) For the reasons set forth below, Defendant’s Motion is GRANTED.3

[1065]*1065BACKGROUND

A. Parties and Relevant Factual Allegations

Plaintiffs Richard Fontenberry, Hunter Blaine, and Keith Ward (“Plaintiffs”) are employed by MV Transportation, Inc. as bus and/or train operators, or in equivalent positions operating motorized vehicles. (SAC, ECF No. 30 ¶¶ 1, 4.) Defendant MV Transportation, Inc. (“Defendant”) is a private operator of public transportation properties throughout the United States. (ECF No. 30 ¶ 5.) As of March 6, 2012, Defendant’s headquarters and administrative offices were located in Fairfield, California. (ECF No. 30 ¶ 5.)

Relevant for purposes of this motion, Plaintiffs sue on their own behalf of a putative class of similarly situated individuals defined as follows:

All individuals who are currently employed, or formerly have been employed, by Defendant(s) or any of its operating subsidiaries as a bus and/or train operator or in an equivalent position operating motorized vehiele(s) at any time from July 30, 2008 to the present, plus periods of equitable tolling.

(ECF No. 30 ¶ 44.) This proposed class is not limited to current or former operators who work or have worked in the State of California. (ECF No. 30 ¶¶44, 97-107.) Plaintiffs specifically seek to represent the allegedly aggrieved group and any member of the “general public and other persons who have been exposed to Defendant’s unlawful or unfair acts and/or practices and are owed wages.” (ECF No. 30 ¶ 99.)

Plaintiffs contend that Defendant committed unlawful and/or unfair business acts or practices in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”), California Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant failed to: properly pay for all hours worked, pay overtime, pay all wages when they were due and upon termination, provide accurate and itemized wage statements, and provide meal and rest breaks — all of which Plaintiffs assert constitute unlawful and/or unfair business acts or practices within the meaning of the UCL. (ECF No. 30 ¶ 100.) Plaintiffs allege that these practices and acts occurred in connection with Defendant’s trade and commerce in California. (ECF No. 30 ¶¶ 102-106.)

B. Procedural History

Plaintiffs filed a collective class action complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. (Compl., ECF No. 1.) Plaintiffs asserted claims as follows: (1) violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”); (2) failure to pay all straight time and overtime earned for hours worked in violation of California Labor Code §§ 510, 1194, and 1198, as well as IWC Wage Order 9-2001; (3) failure to provide itemized wage statements in violation of California Labor Code § 226 and IWC Wage Order 9-2001; and (4) waiting time penalties under California Labor Code §§ 201, 202, and 203. (ECF No. 1 at 9-13.)

Plaintiffs withdrew their complaint and filed their First Amended Complaint (“FAC”), asserting a fifth claim: failure to pay all wages owed every pay period under California Labor Code § 204. (FAC, ECF No. 6 ¶¶ 58-63.) Plaintiffs also amended their second claim to remove section 510 as one of the California Labor Code violations. (See ECF No. 6 ¶¶ 48-50.) Defendant submitted an answer to Plaintiffs FAC. (Def.’s Answer to FAC, ECF No. 8.)

Plaintiffs moved to amend the FAC and filed a proposed SAC in order to “assert claims under two more statutes (specifically, Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 17200 and the Private Attorney General Act of 2004, codified at Cal. Labor Code § 2698 et seq. [1066]*1066(“PAGA”)), and also to add two more categories of compensable time for which Defendant fails to pay its operators ...” (Pl.’s Mot. to Am. FAC, ECF No. 20 at 2:16-20.) Defendant opposed Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend “on the grounds that the California Business & Professions Code [claim] and class is invalid under California law” and because “Plaintiffs cannot bring a nationwide unfair competition claim based on alleged violations of the California Labor Code.” (Def.’s Opp’n. to PL’s Mot. to Am., ECF No. 23 at 2:1-3, 5:2-3.) The court heard oral argument on the matter and, citing the liberal standard for amendment as set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15, granted Plaintiffs’ motion. (See ECF Nos. 29, 42-1 & 34-3.)

STANDARD

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) requires that a pleading contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Under notice pleading in federal court, the complaint must “give the defendant fair notice of what the claim ... is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal quotations omitted). “This simplified notice pleading standard relies on liberal discovery rules and summary judgment motions to define disputed facts and issues and to dispose of unmeritorious claims.” Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002).

On a motion to dismiss, the factual allegations of the complaint must be accepted as true. Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322, 92 S.Ct. 1079, 31 L.Ed.2d 263 (1972). A court is bound to give plaintiff the benefit of every reasonable inference to be drawn from the “well-pleaded” allegations of the complaint. Retail Clerks Int’l Ass’n v. Schermerhorn, 373 U.S. 746, 753 n. 6, 83 S.Ct. 1461, 10 L.Ed.2d 678 (1963). A plaintiff need not allege “ ‘specific facts’ beyond those necessary to state his claim and the grounds showing entitlement to relief.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (2007)).

Nevertheless, a court “need not assume the truth of legal conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations.”

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984 F. Supp. 2d 1062, 2013 WL 6182587, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168576, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fontenberry-v-mv-transportation-inc-caed-2013.