Moodie v. Kiawah Island Inn Co.

309 F.R.D. 370, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114998, 2015 WL 5037019
District Court, D. South Carolina·Decided August 24, 2015·No. No. 2:15-cv-1097-RMG·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

ORDER

RICHARD MARK GERGEL, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Certification of a Rule 23 Class Action as to Counts II, III, and IV of the Complaint. For the reasons stated below, the motion is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.

I. Background

Defendant operates a resort on Kiawah Island, South Carolina. (Dkt. No. 1 at ¶ 17; Dkt. No. 12 at 1). Defendant imported foreign workers from Jamaica under the federal H-2B visa program during 2012, 2013, 2014, and is doing so again in 2015. (Dkt. No. 1 at ¶¶22, 24; Dkt. No. 12 at 1; see also H-2B Disclosure Data, available at http://www. foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/performaneedata. cfm (last visited Aug. 19, 2015)). Plaintiffs are Jamaican residents imported by Defendant under the H-2B program during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. (Dkt. Nos. 19-3, 19-4,19-5, and 19-6). Plaintiffs filed this action alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), violations of the South Carolina Payment of Wages Act (SCPWA), and breach of contract claims. (Dkt. No. 1).

With regard to the FLSA Plaintiffs allege that (1) Defendant failed to reimburse them [374]*374for pre-employment expenses that they incurred primarily for the benefit of Defendant resulting in wages below the federal minimum wage during their first week of work, (2) Defendant made unreasonable and improper deductions from their wages for unreasonably high housing and transportation costs resulting in wages below the federal minimum wage, and (3) Defendant failed to pay them the Supplemental Prevailing Wage mandated by the Department of Labor (DOL) in 2013, resulting in a failure to pay the proper overtime wage as required by FLSA. (Dkt. No. 1 at 5-13, 18-19). The Court has granted Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary certification of these FLSA claims in Count I. (Dkt. No. 47).

In the instant motion, Plaintiffs move for class certification of them state law claims found in Counts II, III, and IV. (Dkt. No. 19). Since the filing of this motion, the Court has dismissed Count IV of the Complaint. (Dkt. No. 29 at 27-28). Therefore, Plaintiffs’ motion for certification as to Count IV is denied as moot.

In Count II, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant violated the SCPWA by (1) failing to pay them all wages due and (2) failing to provide written notice at the time of hire of the deductions to be taken from their wages. The Court has dismissed this count to the extent that it seeks payment of the federal minimum wage or payment at the supplemental prevailing wage rate during overtime weeks in 2013. (Dkt. No. 49). Thus, the claims that remain in Count II are Plaintiffs’ claims that Defendant failed to pay all wages due (a) during the first week of work because de facto deductions for pre-employment expenses brought their wages below the H-2B prevailing wage, (b) during other weeks because Defendant made unreasonable and improper deductions from their wages for unreasonably high housing and transportation costs resulting in wages below the H-2B prevailing wage, and (c) during non-overtime weeks in 2013 because Defendant failed to pay them the Supplemental Prevailing Wage mandated by the DOL, as well as Plaintiffs’ claims that they were not properly notified of deductions at the time of hire as required by SCPWA. (See Dkt. No. 1, Dkt. No. 49 at 21-22).

In Count III, Plaintiffs allege that Defendant breached its employment contracts with Plaintiffs by failing to pay the H-2B prevailing wage and supplemental prevailing wage. (Dkt. No. 1 at 21-22). Again, this claim is based on Plaintiffs’ allegations that de facto deductions for pre-employment expenses brought their wages below the H-2B prevailing wage during the first week of work, that Defendant made unreasonable and improper deductions from their wages for unreasonably high housing and transportation costs resulting in wages below the H-2B prevailing wage, and that Defendant failed to pay them the Supplemental Prevailing Wage mandated by the DOL in 2013 during non-overtime weeks. (See Dkt. No. 1). The Court dismissed this count to the extent that Plaintiffs relied on promises Defendant made to the DOL but allowed the claims to go forward under the theory that the H-2B regulations were the law at the time the contract was created and, therefore, constitute terms of the employment contract. (Dkt. No. 49 at 23-27).

Plaintiffs seek class certification of these claims in Counts II and III, with the proposed class consisting of

All those individuals admitted as H-2B temporary foreign workers pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) who were employed by Defendant in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

(Dkt. No. 19-1 at 2). Defendant has filed an opposition to the motion, (Dkt. No. 25), and Plaintiff has filed a reply, (Dkt. No. 32).

II. Legal Standard

“The class-action device, which allows a representative party to prosecute his own claims and the claims of those who present similar issues, is an exception to the general rule that a party in federal court may vindicate only his own interests,” Thorn v. Jefferson-Pilot Life Ins. Co., 445 F.3d 311, 318 (4th Cir.2006) (citing Gen. Tel. Co. of Sw. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 156, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982)). “Chief among the justifications for this device is its efficiency: adjudication of a properly-constituted class action [375]*375generally has res judicata effect and ‘saves the resources of both the courts and the parties by permitting an issue potentially affecting every class member to be litigated in an economical fashion.’ ” Id. (quoting Cal-ifano v. Yamasaki 442 U.S. 682, 701, 99 S.Ct. 2545, 61 L.Ed.2d 176 (1979)). “To ensure this benefit is realized, however, and to protect both the rights of the absent plaintiffs to present claims that are different from those common to the class and the right of the defendant to present facts or raise defenses that are particular to individual class members, district courts must conduct a ‘rigorous analysis’ to ensure compliance with Rule 23, ... paying careful attention to the requirements of that Rule.” Id. (internal citations and quotations omitted).

To be certified, a proposed class must satisfy the four prerequisites of Rule 23(a): (1) numerosity; (2) commonality; (3) typicality; and (4) adequacy of representation, as well as one of the three categories in Rule 23(b). EQT Prod. Co. v. Adair, 764 F.3d 347, 357 (4th Cir.2014). Here, Plaintiffs seek certification under Rule 23(b)(3). Rule 23(b)(3) requires that “(1) common questions of law or fact must predominate over any questions affecting only individual class members; and (2) proceeding as a class must be superior to other available methods of litigation.” Id.; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(3).

A party seeking class certification must do more than plead compliance with the Rule 23 requirements. Adair, 764 F.3d at 357.

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

Moodie v. Kiawah Island Inn Co., 309 F.R.D. 370, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114998, 2015 WL 5037019 (D.S.C. 2015).

309 F.R.D. 370 (Moodie v. Kiawah Island Inn Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related