Krouse v. Ply Gem Pacific Windows Corp.

803 F. Supp. 2d 1220, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79197, 2011 WL 2971774
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedJuly 19, 2011
DocketCivil No. 10-111-HA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 803 F. Supp. 2d 1220 (Krouse v. Ply Gem Pacific Windows Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Krouse v. Ply Gem Pacific Windows Corp., 803 F. Supp. 2d 1220, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79197, 2011 WL 2971774 (D. Or. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

HAGGERTY, District Judge:

Plaintiff brought suit against defendants asserting claims arising out of the circumstances of his termination of employment with his former employer, defendant Ply Gem Pacific Windows Corporation (Ply Gem). Plaintiff began working for Ply Gem’s predecessor in early February 1997 as a window technician. He was terminated in February 2009. Plaintiff alleges, in part, that he was pressured to refrain from documenting the overtime hours he worked. Other details from the factual background of this case will be evaluated as necessary.

Plaintiffs Complaint initially alleged fifteen claims. Plaintiff stipulated to the dismissal of two claims against the individually named defendants, and plaintiff agreed to withdraw his Tenth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Claims for Relief alleging Oregon Family Leave Act discrimination, defamation, and intentional interference with economic relations. Defendants seek summary judgment on the remaining ten claims.

Plaintiff advances a cross-motion for summary judgment on his Fourth Claim for Relief, alleging that defendant Ply Gem made an unlawful deduction from a reimbursement check in violation of Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) section 652.615. Plaintiff seeks payment of the statutory penalty of $200.00 for this conduct. Also pending in this action is plaintiffs discovery motion, which re-visits prior rulings made by this court.

For the following reasons, defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment [44] is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [50] is DENIED. Plaintiffs Motion to Compel [54] is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.

I. STANDARDS

Summary judgment is appropriate “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.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The moving party has the burden of establishing the absence of a genuine dispute regarding material facts. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). All reasonable doubt as to the existence of a genuine factual [1223]*1223dispute should be resolved against the moving party. MetroPCS, Inc. v. City & County of San Francisco, 400 F.3d 715, 720 (9th Cir.2005) (citation omitted).

If the moving party shows the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings and identify facts which show a genuine issue for trial. Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. A nonmoving party cannot defeat summary judgment by relying on the allegations in the complaint, or with unsupported conjecture or conclusory statements. Hernandez v. Spacelabs Medical, Inc., 343 F.3d 1107, 1112 (9th Cir.2003). Summary judgment should be entered against “a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548. However, the Ninth Circuit has reasoned that courts should require very little evidence to survive summary judgment in an employment discrimination case because the ultimate question is one that is most appropriately conducted by the fact-finder, upon a full record. Schnidrig v. Columbia Mach., Inc., 80 F.3d 1406, 1410 (9th Cir.1996).

II. ANALYSIS

1. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment

A. Failure to Pay Overtime pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act

Plaintiffs first claim is brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), at 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), and alleges that defendant Ply Gem failed to pay overtime wages. Plaintiff seeks unpaid overtime in the amount of $16,315.20 plus prejudgment interest and liquidated damages. Compl. at 8. Plaintiff admits that he did not report this overtime, but asserts that defendant was aware that he was working additional unreported hours. Plaintiff claims that he complained to his supervisors, Edward Chase (Chase) and Robert Gehne (Gehne), that he was being forced to work off-the-clock, providing them notice that he was working unreported hours. Plaintiff further alleges that defendant was engaged in a “clandestine policy encouraging plaintiff to work off-the-clock so as to not clock overtime.” Pl.’s Resp. at 13.

Defendants seek summary judgment on this claim, arguing that the affirmative defense of equitable estoppel is properly invoked because Ply Gem should not be held responsible for the payment of hours that plaintiff failed to report. The parties agree that the four elements of equitable estoppel are presented accurately in Forrester v. Roth’s I.G.A. Foodliner, Inc., 475 F.Supp. 630 (D.Or.1979). Under Forrester, equitable estoppel applies where: (1) the plaintiff knows the facts; (2) the plaintiff intends his conduct to be acted upon; (3) the defendant is ignorant of the true facts; and (4) the defendant relies on the plaintiffs conduct. Id. at 630.

The first two elements of the estoppel defense are present. First, plaintiff had knowledge of the hours that he was allegedly working. Second, plaintiff submitted his time records for the purpose of getting compensated with knowledge that the records lacked any claim for the alleged overtime. Plaintiff intended that defendant act upon the information he submitted.

Whether the third element is present — regarding defendant’s alleged ignorance of the “true facts” of plaintiffs unreported hours — is less clear. Plaintiff sent an e-mail to his supervisor stating, “this only company I cant do enough for and don’t want time so scare everyone to not show real hours.” Le Roux Decl. Ex. 32. Plaintiff argues that this e-mail constitutes notice that he was working off the clock. Chase testified that he understood the communication to mean that Krouse “was [1224]*1224working off the clock, basically, and doing something that he shouldn’t have been doing.” Chase Dep. 75: 23-25. This testimony raises a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether defendant had knowledge of the “true facts” regarding plaintiffs unreported overtime. Defendant fails to meet all of the elements of the estoppel defense at this time. Summary judgment is denied on plaintiffs first claim.

B. Failure to Pay back wages pursuant to ORS 652.140 and 652.150

Plaintiffs second claim is brought under ORS 652.140(1), alleging that defendant failed to timely pay all wages earned and unpaid after plaintiff was terminated. Plaintiff seeks the maximum civil penalty of $4,944.00. Compl. at 10.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
803 F. Supp. 2d 1220, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79197, 2011 WL 2971774, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/krouse-v-ply-gem-pacific-windows-corp-ord-2011.