Goussen v. Mendez Fuel Holdings LLC

350 F. Supp. 3d 1283
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 10, 2018
DocketCase No. 18-20012-Civ-COOKE/GOODMAN
StatusPublished

This text of 350 F. Supp. 3d 1283 (Goussen v. Mendez Fuel Holdings LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goussen v. Mendez Fuel Holdings LLC, 350 F. Supp. 3d 1283 (S.D. Fla. 2018).

Opinion

MARCIA G. COOKE, United States District Judge

THIS MATTER is before me upon Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment ("Motion") (ECF No. 31). Defendants Mendez Fuel Holdings LLC ("MFH") and Michael Mendez ("Mendez") filed a Response in Opposition to the Motion (ECF No. 33), and Plaintiff timely filed a Reply (ECF No. 36). I have carefully considered the parties' motion papers, the record, and the relevant legal authorities. For the reasons set forth herein, Plaintiff's Motion is granted in part and denied in part.

*1286I. BACKGROUND

From March 6, 2014, to December 7, 2017, Plaintiff Jairo Goussen was an employee at a gas station operated by Defendants in Miami, Florida.1 Compl. , ECF No. 1, at ¶ 9. The nature of Plaintiff's employment is hotly contested here. Defendants assert that Plaintiff was the manager of the gas station's deli, with "free rein" to operate the deli as he saw fit, Resp. in Opp'n , ECF No. 33, at p. 5, while Plaintiff insists that he was merely "a regular employee"-specifically, a "cashier, cook, [and] customer service representative." Jairo Goussen Aff. , ECF No. 32-4, at ¶¶ 4, 8. What is not contested is that Plaintiff earned a salary of $650 per week. See Pl.'s Stmt. of Material Facts , ECF No. 32, at ¶ 4; Michael Mendez Dep. , ECF No. 32-1, at p. 31.

Plaintiff seeks relief under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), claiming that he "worked an average of 62.5 hours a week for Defendants," but "was never paid the extra half time rate for any hours worked over 40 hours." Compl. , ECF No. 1, at ¶ 14. Plaintiff further claims that Defendants' alleged failure to pay overtime wages was willful, thus extending the statute of limitations for his FLSA claim from two years to three years. Id. at ¶ 15. In the instant Motion, Plaintiff seeks summary judgment on several elements of his claim. First, Plaintiff asks the Court to find as a matter of law that Defendant Michael Mendez, who owns and operates Defendant MFH, was Plaintiff's "employer" as that term is defined in the FLSA, and that Mendez is therefore individually liable to Plaintiff for any unpaid overtime wages. Mot. , ECF No. 31, at pp. 3-5. Second, Plaintiff asks the Court to find that he was not exempt from entitlement to overtime pay under the FLSA's executive, administrative, professional and combination exemptions. Id. at pp. 7-12. Third, Plaintiff asks the Court to find that he did indeed perform overtime work for which he was not paid, and therefore that "liability has been established, and ... the matter can proceed to a damages trial." Id. at pp. 12-13.

In their Response to Plaintiff's Motion, Defendants argue that "[i]t is a disputed material fact [whether] Michael Mendez is an individual employer under the FLSA," as "it is disputed [whether] Michael Mendez personally runs the day to day operations of [MFH]." Resp. in Opp'n , ECF No. 33, at p. 3. Defendants assert that Plaintiff's duties at the gas station deli "were primarily managerial in nature," and that "there are genuine issues of material fact as to ... whether his role created an exempt status." Id. at pp. 5, 13. Unsurprisingly, Defendants further deny that liability has been established as a matter of law. Id. at p. 13. Finally, although Defendants do not explicitly state as much, they appear to seek a finding as a matter of law that any alleged FLSA violations were not willful, and that Plaintiff's suit, filed on January 2, 2018, is therefore partially barred by the standard two-year statute of limitations. See id. at pp. 13-14.

In his Reply, Plaintiff reasserts his claims and argues that "[t]he issue of willfulness is a question of fact for the jury to decide and not appropriate for disposition by the Court." Reply , ECF No. 36, at p. 3.

*1287II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Summary Judgment

"A party may move for summary judgment, identifying each claim or defense-or the part of each claim or defense-on which summary judgment is sought." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). "The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."Id. In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, the Court is "required to view the evidence and all factual inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and resolve all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the non-movant." Feliciano v. City of Miami Beach , 707 F.3d 1244, 1247 (11th Cir. 2013) (quoting Skop v. City of Atlanta , 485 F.3d 1130, 1143 (11th Cir. 2007) ). Importantly, "at the summary judgment stage the judge's function is not himself [or herself] to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter," but only "to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

B. The Fair Labor Standards Act

"The Fair Labor Standards Act ... requires employers to pay overtime compensation to covered employees." Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 1134, 1138, 200 L.Ed.2d 433 (2018). Certain exemptions from coverage apply, including for employees who are "employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity." 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1). In order for any of these "EAP" exemptions to apply-that is, for the employee not to be entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA-the employee must, among other things, be "compensated on a salary basis at a rate of not less than $455 per week." 29 C.F.R. § 541.600(a).2

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Richard Stevins v. Provident Construction Company
137 F. App'x 198 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Jeffery v. Sarasota White Sox, Inc.
64 F.3d 590 (Eleventh Circuit, 1995)
Peter Evans v. City of Zebulon, Georgia
407 F.3d 1272 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Laura Skop v. City of Atlanta, Georgia
485 F.3d 1130 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Walters v. American Coach Lines of Miami, Inc.
575 F.3d 1221 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Sendhabhai Patel v. Dr. Alex Wargo, Etc.
803 F.2d 632 (Eleventh Circuit, 1986)
Edward W. Dalheim v. Kdfw-Tv
918 F.2d 1220 (Fifth Circuit, 1990)
Josendis v. Wall to Wall Residence Repairs, Inc.
662 F.3d 1292 (Eleventh Circuit, 2011)
Alveda King Beal v. Paramount Pictures Corporation
20 F.3d 454 (Eleventh Circuit, 1994)
Janet Feliciano v. City of Miami Beach
707 F.3d 1244 (Eleventh Circuit, 2013)
Reinaldo Ramon Lamonica v. Safe Hurricane Shutters, Inc.
711 F.3d 1299 (Eleventh Circuit, 2013)
Walters v. American Coach Lines of Miami, Inc.
569 F. Supp. 2d 1270 (S.D. Florida, 2008)
Moore v. Tractor Supply Co.
352 F. Supp. 2d 1268 (S.D. Florida, 2004)
Morrison v. Quality Transports Services, Inc.
474 F. Supp. 2d 1303 (S.D. Florida, 2007)
Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro
584 U.S. 79 (Supreme Court, 2018)
Calvo v. B & R Supermarket, Inc.
63 F. Supp. 3d 1369 (S.D. Florida, 2014)
Nevada v. United States Department of Labor
218 F. Supp. 3d 520 (E.D. Texas, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
350 F. Supp. 3d 1283, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goussen-v-mendez-fuel-holdings-llc-flsd-2018.