Garcia v. E.J. Amusements of New Hampshire, Inc.

98 F. Supp. 3d 277, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48161, 2015 WL 1623837
District Court, D. Massachusetts·Decided April 13, 2015·No. Civil Action No. 13-12536-PBS·Published·Cited by 24 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SARIS, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff Jorge García1 brings this proposed class action against Fiesta Shows,2 a company that provides rides and attractions to fairs and carnivals throughout New England. Garcia alleges that Fiesta Shows violated minimum wage and overtime laws in Massachusetts and New Hampshire (Counts 1-2, 4-5); breached contracts requiring the payment of prevailing wages set by the U.S. Department of Labor (Count 8); and unlawfully forced foreign guest workers to pay pre-employment expenses like travel and costs for obtaining a visa (Counts 3, 6). Additionally, Garcia has alleged a common law claim for unjust enrichment. (Count 7).

Garcia now seeks to certify a class of current and former employees of Fiesta Shows for purposes of litigating his minimum wage and overtime' claims under Massachusetts and New Hampshire law (Counts 1-2, 4-5).3 Fiesta Shows opposes the motion and has filed a cross-motion to deny class certification. For the following reasons, Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification (Docket No. 166) is ALLOWED. Defendants’ Motion to Deny Class Certification (Docket No. 157) is DENIED.4

I. LEGAL STANDARDS FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

At the outset, the Court must determine the proper legal standard to be applied to Garcia’s motion for class certification. The [282]*282First Circuit has stated that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply in federal court as long as they (1) are valid under the Constitution and (2) do not “abridge, enlarge or modify any substantive right.” Morel v. DaimlerChrysler AG, 565 F.3d 20, 24 (1st Cir.2009) (quoting the Rules Enabling Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2072(b)); see also Hoyos v. Telecorp Commc’ns, Inc., 488 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.2007) (“[A] federal court sitting in diversity ... must apply state substantive law, but a federal court applies federal rules of procedure to its proceedings.”). For this reason, federal courts ordinarily apply Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 when adjudicating class certification motions. See In re Nexium Antitrust Litig., 777 F.3d 9, 17-18 (1st Cir.2015); Greif v. Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP, 258 F.Supp.2d 157, 161 (E.D.N.Y.2003) (agreeing that “all class actions in federal courts are governed by Rule 23” (emphasis added)). Rule 23 has also generally applied when federal courts are sitting in diversity and applying state substantive law. See Matamoros v. Starbucks Corp., 699 F.3d 129, 139 (1st Cir.2012) (applying Rule 23 to class action alleging violations of the Massachusetts Tips Act); Manning v. Boston Med. Ctr. Corp., 725 F.3d 34, 58-59 (1st Cir.2013) (applying Rule 23 to class action alleging Massachusetts common law claims).

Both parties, however, urge the Court to set aside Rule 23 for at least some of the claims. Garcia argues that a “more lenient” standard applies to his claims under Massachusetts law. Meanwhile, Fiesta Shows argues that New Hampshire law does not allow class certification for wage and hour claims at all. Both of these arguments fail.

A. Massachusetts Wage and Overtime Claims

The Massachusetts wage and hour statute states that a plaintiff may bring a lawsuit on behalf of “himself and for others similarly situated.” Mass. Gen. Laws c. 149, § 150, c. 151, §§ 1B, 20. Garcia’s request for a “more lenient” standard is based on the Supreme Judicial Court’s recent statement that the Massachusetts wage statute “specifically provides for a substantive right to bring a class proceeding.” Machado v. System4 LLC, 465 Mass. 508, 989 N.E.2d 464, 470 (2013). As a result, Garcia argues that the “traditional. technicalities” of Rule 23 should not apply here because they might interfere with his substantive right to bring a class action in Massachusetts.

Garcia’s argument stumbles at the starting gate because he does not explain how Rule 23 conflicts with the “more lenient” standard he proposes under Massachusetts law. Garcia suggests that Rule 23 might interfere with his substantive right to proceed as a class. But he does not explain how a class certification analysis under Massachusetts law would proceed any differently from a Rule 23 analysis. See United States v. Zannino, 895 F.2d 1, 17 (1st Cir.1990) (“It is not enough merely to mention a possible argument in the most skeletal way, leaving the court to do counsel’s work, create the ossature for the argument, and put flesh on its bones.”).

Nor do the cases cited by Garcia shed any light on what a “more lenient” standard would look like here. See Machado, 989 N.E.2d at 470 (holding that the Federal Arbitration Act requires enforcement of class action waivers in arbitration clauses even when Massachusetts law provides for a “substantive right” to bring a class proceeding); Sebago v. Tutunjian, 85 Mass. App.Ct. 1119, 7 N.E.3d 1122, 2014 WL 1874858 at *2 n. 6 (Mass.App.Ct. May 12, 2014) (unpublished) (citing to Mass. R. Civ. [283]*283P. 23, which is similar in all relevant aspects to its federal counterpart); see also Salvas v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 452 Mass. 337, 893 N.E.2d 1187, 1207-10 (2008) (applying Mass. R. Civ. P. 23 to a class based on wage and hours claims). If anything, Sebago and Salvas suggest that the Court should apply Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 in the same way that Massachusetts courts apply Mass. R. Civ. P. 23 to classes based on wage claims.

Garcia also cites to cases where Massachusetts courts have recognized a lower threshold for class certification under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Mass. Gen. Laws c. 93A (Chapter 93A), instead of Mass. R. Civ. P. 23. See Aspinall v. Philip Morris Cos., 442 Mass. 381, 813 N.E.2d 476, 485 (2004); Fletcher v. Cape Cod Gas Co., 394 Mass. 595, 477 N.E.2d 116, 122-23 (1985). But Garcia’s attempt at analogizing Chapter 93A claims to wage and overtime claims is like comparing cotton candy to corn dogs. Chapter 93A class actions are subject to a less stringent standard because the “statutory language in c. 93A § 9(2) differs in significant respects from Mass. R. Civ. P. 23.” Aspinall, 813 N.E.2d at 484. A plaintiff may bring a Chapter 93A class action on behalf of “other similarly injured and situated persons”:

if the use or employment of the unfair or deceptive act or practice has caused similar injury to numerous other persons similarly situated and if the court finds in a preliminary hearing that he adequately and fairly represents such other persons

Mass. Gen. Laws c. 93A § 9(2). In Aspinall,

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Garcia v. E.J. Amusements of New Hampshire, Inc., 98 F. Supp. 3d 277, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48161, 2015 WL 1623837 (D. Mass. 2015).

98 F. Supp. 3d 277 (Garcia v. E.J. Amusements of New Hampshire, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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