Goldberg v. Fritschy

198 F. Supp. 743, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3706
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. North Carolina
DecidedOctober 27, 1961
DocketCiv. A. Nos. 1811, 1812, 1933
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 198 F. Supp. 743 (Goldberg v. Fritschy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goldberg v. Fritschy, 198 F. Supp. 743, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3706 (W.D.N.C. 1961).

Opinion

WARLICK, Chief Judge.

These are three related cases all of which have been instituted by the Secretary of Labor, and no conflict appearing, they were consolidated for trial, by consent, on August 2, 1961. Nos. 1811 and 1812 were instituted on October 27, 1958, and No. 1933 on August 10,1960. All involve the same defendant and relate to alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., and hereinafter referred to as the Act. Originally the consolidated actions were instituted in the name of James P. Mitchell, then Secretary of Labor, and subsequently on petition and order, Arthur J. Goldberg, now Secretary of Labor, was substituted.

In No. 1811, the Secretary of Labor seeks an injunction under Section 17 of the Act to prevent alleged violations of certain provisions of the Act, namely Sections 15(a) (1), 15(a) (2), 15(a) (4) and 15(a) (5). 29 U.S.C.A. § 215.

No. 1812 was commenced under Section 16(c) of the Act pursuant to the written request of Roy Fowler and Ralph Godfrey, two former employees of defendant Fritschy. Under this procedure when the requests are so made, the Secretary of Labor is authorized to bring an action on behalf of said employees to recover unpaid minimum wages and unpaid overtime compensation allegedly due them under Sections 6 and 7 of the Act.

No. 1933 was also instituted under the 16(c) procedure pursuant to the written request of one Leonard C. Sprouse, another former employee of the defendant, who also seeks alleged unpaid minimum wage and unpaid overtime compensation under Sections 6 and 7 of the Act.

The essential questions are the usual ones in cases of this type, i. e., whether or not the Act is applicable to Fritschy’s employees, and also whether his establish[745]*745ment is exempt from certain provisions of the Act by reason of exemptions found in Section 13(a) (2) of the Act.

James G. Fritsehy for many years has operated an automobile repair business in the City of Asheville at 775 Merrimon Avenue. Until 1956 he maintained at that site both his repair shop and also on the same premises and within the same enclosure his storage lot. On this lot were stored wrecked cars hauled in by his towing wreckers, — and these wrecked vehicles were the source of many used parts which were removed for use in the repair of similar makes and models in his repair shop. 775 Merrimon Avenue is located in a first class residential area of Asheville, and being one of the principal routes of entry to the city by travelers and tourists, the city authorities persuaded Fritsehy to remove his storage lot to a less conspicuous area, since Ashe-ville is decidedly a tourist center. Thereafter he acquired by lease the property at 665 Riverside Drive and about one and one half miles distant from his place of business on Merrimon, in which area are many maunfacturing plants, railroad yards and warehouses. He moved his storage lot to this site and his operation continued as before. The lot was labeled “Fritschy’s No. 2” and on this lot exactly the same functions as had been performed while at 775 Merrimon Avenue were carried on. On the storage lot, both before and after the change of location, the principal objective was the removal of useable parts from the vehicles. Fritschy’s repair shop continued to have first call on any parts and in the event that he had no need therefor, his employees on the storage lot were authorized to sell them either to individuals who might come on the lot or to automobile dealers in the area who might have need for them. When an automobile had been completely stripped of all worthwhile parts, the evidence shows that the scrap metal was then sold to Shulimson Brothers Company or to the Biltmore Iron & Metal Co. in Asheville. Both of these companies were local buyers of scrap metal and iron, and representatives of both companies testified that approximately 90 to 95 per cent of the scrap metal which they bought was then shipped out of the State of North Carolina to be reprocessed and fabricated in the steel mills throughout the country.

The first question here is to determine whether the employees in whose behalf these actions have been instituted were “engaged in commerce or production of goods for commerce” so as to fall within the coverage of the Act. The test is stated to be “whether the work is so directly and vitally related to the functioning of an instrumentality or facility of interstate commerce as to be, in practical effect, a part of it, rather than isolated local activity.” Mitchell v. C. W. Vollmer & Co., 349 U.S. 427, 429, 75 S.Ct. 860, 862, 99 L.Ed. 1196.

The three individuals for whom the Labor Department prosecutes these actions worked at the Riverside Drive lot, two of them having also worked at the Merrimon Avenue garage at times. All of them testified that their duties were to keep the lot clean, the removal of parts from the wrecked cars by the use of acetylene torches and other equipment, and the loading and hauling of scrap metals and batteries to Shulimson Brothers Company and Biltmore Iron & Metal Co. It thus appears that all three were within the coverage of the Act as they were engaged in the production of goods for commerce. It makes no difference that the scrap metal handler by the plaintiffs was sold by the defendant to other scrap dealers within the state before going into the channels of interstate commerce. This was the destination expected and intended by the defendant; and “the Act extends at least to the employer who expects goods to move in interstate commerce”. Warren-Bradshaw Drilling Co. v. Hall, 317 U.S. 88, 63 S.Ct. 125, 127, 87 L.Ed. 83; United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100, 657, 61 S.Ct. 451, 85 L.Ed. 609. Judge Parker states in Bracey v. Luray, 4 Cir., 138 F.2d 8 at page 11:

“It is of no significance that all of the transactions to which the em[746]*746ployer is a party occur wholly intrastate, where he expects that the goods produced will move in interstate commerce. It has been so held where he merely sells goods intrastate to one who he knows will sell them in interstate commerce.”

The defendant interposes the defense that he is exempt from the provisions of Sections 6 and 7 of the Act by reason of the retail or service establishment exemption provided for in Section 13(a) (2) of the Act. In order to come within the narrowly defined limits of the exemption, certain requirements are set forth therein:

1. More than 50 per cent of the annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services must be made within the state in which the establishment is located.

2. At least 75 per cent of the annual ■dollar volume of sales of goods or services {or of both) must not be for resale.

3. At least 75 per cent of the annual dollar volume of sales of goods or services (<or of both) must be recognized as retail sales or services in the industry.

(4, 5] The term “establishment”, as set forth in Section 13(a) (2), is defined as a distinct, physical place of business, and is not to be construed as synonymous with the word “business” or “enterprise” as applied to multi-unit companies. Phillips, Inc., v. Walling, 324 U.S. 490, 65 S.Ct. 807, 89 L.Ed.

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198 F. Supp. 743, 1961 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3706, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goldberg-v-fritschy-ncwd-1961.