Leon v. Diversified Concrete, LLC

225 F. Supp. 3d 596, 2016 WL 7048256, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167330
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedDecember 5, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO: 15-6301
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 225 F. Supp. 3d 596 (Leon v. Diversified Concrete, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leon v. Diversified Concrete, LLC, 225 F. Supp. 3d 596, 2016 WL 7048256, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167330 (E.D. La. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER & REASONS

CARL J. BARBIER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendants Ryan and Bradley Rogers’ (Defendants) Motion for Summary Judgment (R. Doc. 75) and a reply thereto filed by Plaintiff, Pedro Leon (R. Doc. 76). Having considered the motion and legal memoranda, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds that the motion should be GRANTED.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff brought this collective action suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) against his former employer Diversified Concrete, LLC (Diversified), and Diversified’s members, Ryan Rogers and Bradly Rogers. Plaintiff alleges that he and other laborers were not paid overtime wages for time worked in excess of forty hours per week. (R. Doc. 1.) On May 5, 2016, Plaintiff amended his complaint to add violations of Louisiana Revised Statute § 23:1163. (R. Doc. 30.) Plaintiff alleges that Defendants unlawfully deducted workers’ compensation premiums from his and other laborers’ paychecks. Id. On May 13, 2016, this Court granted Plaintiffs Motion for Conditional Class Certification for Plaintiffs proposed FLSA class. (R. Doc. 33.) On October 26, 2016, this Court granted Plaintiffs motion to certify a class of employees from whom Defendants allegedly deducted wages to pay toward workers’ compensation premiums. (R. Doc. 74.) Defendants now ask this Court to dismiss Defendants Ryan Rogers and Bradley Rogers from this lawsuit. (R. Doc. 75.) In short, Defendants argue that, as members of Diversified Concrete, LLC, Ryan and Bradley Rogers cannot be held personally hable for Diversified’s violations of Louisiana Revised Statute § 23:1163. Id. Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment is now before the Court on the briefs and without oral argument.

PARTIES’ ARGUMENTS

1. Defendants’ Arguments

Ryan and Bradley Rogers argue that they cannot be held personally liable for any alleged violations of Louisiana Revised Statute § 23:1163, because Diversified Concrete, LLC is a separate and distinct juridical person from its members. (R. Doc. 75-2 at 4.) Defendants argue that the company, not Ryan and Bradley Rogers personally, entered into agreements- with its workers to provide labor to complete construction projects. Id. Further, Defendants argue that the company, not Ryan and Bradley Rogers personally, deducted wages to pay toward workers’ compensation premiums. Thus, Defendants argue that they cannot be held personally liable for the debts, obligations, or liabilities of the company. Id. at 5. For these reasons, Defendants argue that Plaintiffs’ claims under Louisiana Revised Statute § 23:1163 against Ryan and Bradley Rogers, personally, should be dismissed. Id.

2. Plaintiffs’ Arguments

Plaintiff argues that the plain wording of Louisiana Revised Statute § 23:1163 “contemplates and provides for personal liability.” (R. Doc. 76 at 1.) Plaintiff further argues that the deposition testimony of Diversified’s employee, Kelli Jakes, proves that Ryan and Bradley Rogers made the decision to deduct workers’ compensation premiums from their hourly em[599]*599ployees’ pay. Id. at 2. Further, Plaintiff argues that Louisiana jurisprudence does not shield owners of companies who improperly deduct workers’ compensation premiums from individual liability. Id. Finally, because Bradley Rogers personally supervised Diversified’s employees during construction projects, set their work schedules, and handled their timesheets, Plaintiff argues that Defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be denied.

LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate when “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994). When assessing whether a dispute as to any material fact exists, a court considers “all of the evidence in the record but refrains from making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence.” Delta & Pine Land Co. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., 530 F.3d 395, 398 (5th Cir. 2008). All reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the nonmoving party, but a party cannot defeat summary judgment with conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated assertions. Little, 37 F.3d at 1075. A court ultimately must be satisfied that “a reasonable jury could not return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Delta, 530 F.3d at 399.

If the dispositive issue is one on which the moving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party “must come forward with evidence which would ‘entitle it to a directed verdict if the evidence went uncontroverted at trial.’ ” Int’l Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally’s, Inc., 939 F.2d 1257, 1264-65 (5th Cir. 1991). The nonmov-ing party can then defeat the motion by either countering with sufficient evidence of its own, or “showing that the moving party’s evidence is so sheer that it may not persuade the reasonable fact-finder to return a verdict in favor of the moving party.” Id. at 1265.

If the dispositive issue is one on which the nonmoving party will bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party may satisfy its burden by merely pointing out that the evidence in the record is insufficient with respect to an essential element of the nonmoving party’s claim. See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The burden then shifts to the nonmoving party, who must, by submitting or referring to evidence, set out specific facts showing that a genuine issue exists. See id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.- The nonmovant may not rest upon the pleadings, but must identify specific facts that establish a genuine issue for trial. See, e.g., id. at 325; Little, 37 F.3d at 1075.

DISCUSSION

The Court shall first address whether the plain language of Louisiana Revised Statute § 23:1163 contemplates and provides for personal liability for members of a limited liability company. The fundamental question in all cases involving statutory interpretation is legislative intent. City of DeQuincy v. Henry, 2010-0070, p. 3 (La. 3/15/11), 62 So.3d 43, 46. Further, the interpretation of any statutory provision begins with the language of the statute itself. In re Succession of Faget, 10-0188, p. 8 (La. 11/30/10), 53 So.3d 414, 420. The Louisiana Supreme Court dictates that “when a provision is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, its language must be given effect, and its provisions must be construed so as to give [600]*600effect to the purpose indicated by a fair interpretation of the language used.” Arabie v. CITGO Petroleum Corp., 2010-2605, p. 5 (La.

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225 F. Supp. 3d 596, 2016 WL 7048256, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leon-v-diversified-concrete-llc-laed-2016.