Mitchell v. Bowman

131 F. Supp. 520, 1954 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2261
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedJuly 2, 1954
DocketCiv. A. 951-N
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 131 F. Supp. 520 (Mitchell v. Bowman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitchell v. Bowman, 131 F. Supp. 520, 1954 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2261 (M.D. Ala. 1954).

Opinion

KENNAMER, District Judge.

Plaintiff brought this action to enjoin the defendant from violating the provisions of Sections 15(a) (1), 15(a) (2) and 15(a) (5) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S. C.A. § 201 et seq., hereinafter referred to as the Act.

The complaint and answer having been filed in this cause and plaintiff and defendant having appeared by counsel and the court having heard this cause and having considered the evidence, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Findings of Fact

(1) This action was brought by James P. Mitchell, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor, to enjoin the defendant from violating the minimum wage, overtime, record-keeping and shipping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

(2) The defendant denies that his employees are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and denies that he has violated the minimum wage, overtime,, record-keeping and shipping provisions' of the Act.

(3) The defendant, W. I. Bowman, resides at Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, within the jurisdiction of this court, and is now, and at all times hereinafter mentioned was, the owner and operator of a place of business located at 412 Furnace Street, Montgomery, Alabama, doing business as Capital Stock Yards, where he is engaged in the production, sale and distribution, of livestock.

(4) Defendant’s place of business is a livestock auction market located at Montgomery, Alabama, where livestock is brought to defendant’s place of business by farmers or other sellers in their own conveyances or transportation arranged by them.

(5) It was established by the testimony of J. G. Broadway, an official of Swift & Company’s meat killing and processing plant at Montgomery, Alabama, that a large quantity of cattle is purchased regularly throughout the year by Swift & Company at Capital Stock Yards. During the year of 1953 Swift & Company purchased livestock in the amount of roughly $889,000 at Capital Stock Yards. This livestock was commingled! with other livestock purchased by Swift & Company at their packing plant at Montgomery, Alabama, where said livestock is slaughtered, butchered and prepared for further distribution. Substantially over 50 percent of the products produced at Swift & Company’s packing plant at Montgomery, Alabama, is shipped to points outside the state of Alabama.

(6) It was established by the testimony of T. L. Holland, cattle buyer for Southern Foods Company at Columbus, Georgia, that all livestock purchased by Southern Foods Company at the Capital Stock Yards is shipped to their meat packing plant at Columbus, Georgia. Mr. Holland further testified that during the period prior to December, 1952, while he attended sales at the Capital Stock Yards as a cattle buyer for South[522]*522ern'Foods Company, that from his observation over 50 percent of the livestock handled at the Capital Stock. Yards at Montgomery, Alabama, was shipped by the buyers to points outside the state of Alabama.

(7) The defendant produced a list indicating the number of railroad car shipments of livestock received by the Capital Stock Yards at Montgomery, Alabama, from points outside the state and the number of railroad cars of livestock shipped from Capital Stock Yards to points outside the state of Alabama during the period beginning August 1, 1951, to July 31, 1953, as follows:

Date

No. of inbound railroad cars

No. of outbound railroad cars

1 30 August, 1951

30 Sept., 1951

44 Oct., 1951

21 Nov., 1951

Dec., 1951

6 Jan., 1952

15 Feb., 1952

19 Mar., 1952

10 April, 1952

20 May, 1952

14 June, 1952

14 July, 1952

3 August, 1952

2 Sept.,. 1952

1 Oct., 1952

Nov., 1952

Dec., 1952

Jan., 1953

2 Feb., 1953

3 March, 1953

2 April, 1953

1 May, 1953

2 June, 1953

July, 1953

(8) It was established by the testimony of Jack Thrasher, the owner and operator of a local trucking company whose place of business is located across the road from the Capital Stock Yards, that 10 percent of the cattle transported away from the Capital Stock Yards by ’Mr. Thrasher’s trucks was transported to points outside the state of Alabama.

(9) An exhibit was introduced into evidence which was prepared by Jack Whittaker, office manager of the defendant, and Edward J. Dunlap, investigator of the Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Divisions, United States Department of Labor, from the defendant’s invoices, which showed a sampling of the sales to out-of-state buyers of cattle from Capital Stock Yards during a period beginning August 9, 1951, through June 8, 1954, and disclosed that a substantial amount of cattle was purchased each week at the Capital Stock Yards during the entire period by out-of-state buyers from Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and North Carolina.

(10) Defendant’s employees receive, weigh, tag and pen incoming livestock. The defendant’s employees, as the needs are required, feed, water and tend the livestock. Auction sales of cattle and livestock other than horses and mules are held on Tuesday and Friday of each week and during certain periods of the year sales are conducted on Mondays. During the sales defendant’s employees release from the pens, lead, drive, ride or otherwise attend to livestock in the sales ring and after it has been sold, return such livestock to the appropriate pen where it is checked off and subsequently loaded onto trucks of the buyer or railroad cars or held for subsequent delivery on the buyer’s order.

(11) During the week other than on sale days the defendant’s employees clean up the premises after the sales or make ready for sales, disinfect the pens, haul manure, sometimes feed and water livestock, repair the premises of the stock yards and in general perform all duties necessary to the operation of defendant’s business. Office employees keep books and records pertaining to defendant's business transactions including the issuing of cheeks and preparing bank drafts.

(12) Two of defendant’s employees, Chester Johnson and James Tolliver, worked a night shift beginning at 6 p. m. to 6 a. m., 12 hours a night, 6 days a [523]*523week, making a total of 72 hours per week. No record was kept by the defendant of the hours worked by these employees. These employees were engaged in receiving, feeding, watering, caring for and otherwise handling livestock at the Capital Stock Yards. Chester Johnson received a weekly salary of $33.75 and James Tolliver received a salary of $30.00 per week. The regular rate of pay for both of these employees was less than 75 cents per hour and neither of these employees was compensated at the rate of time and one-half his regular rate of pay for those hours worked in excess of 40 during a workweek.

(13) James Smith worked at the defendant’s stock yards during the auction sales on Tuesday of each week of his employment and on Fridays whenever it was necessary in the sorting, penning, caring for and otherwise handling livestock.

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131 F. Supp. 520, 1954 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-v-bowman-almd-1954.