Munoz v. The Group US Management LLC

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 22, 2023
Docket1:22-cv-04038
StatusUnknown

This text of Munoz v. The Group US Management LLC (Munoz v. The Group US Management LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Munoz v. The Group US Management LLC, (S.D.N.Y. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DOCUMENT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ELECTRONICALLY FILED DOC #: OSVALDO MUNOZ, on behalf of himself, DATE FILED: 8/22/2 023 FLSA Collective Plaintiffs, and the Class, Plaintiff, -against- 1:22-cv-04038 (MKV) THE GROUP US MANAGEMENT LLC MEMORANDUM OPINION d/b/a THE GROUP NYC, AND ORDER GRANTING IN LA GRANDE BOUCHERIE LLC PART AND DENYING IN d/b/a LA GRANDE BOUCHERIE PART MOTION TO DISMISS d/b/a KAISEKI ROOM, OLIO RESTAURANTS LLC d/b/a OLIO E PIU, and EMIL STEFKOV, Defendants. MARY KAY VYSKOCIL, United States District Judge: Plaintiff Osvaldo Munoz asserts claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). Defendants The Group US Management LLC, La Grande Boucherie LLC, Olio Restaurants LLC, and Emil Stefkov (collectively, “Defendants”) move to dismiss these claims under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). For the following reasons, the motion to dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. BACKGROUND1 Munoz worked as a busser five days per week at La Grande Boucherie restaurant from February to December of 2021. See First Amended Complaint ¶¶ 30, 31 [ECF No. 22] (“FAC” or “Complaint”). Munoz was scheduled to work 43 hours per week—two days from 4:00 p.m. to 1 The following facts are taken from the Amended Complaint and accepted as true for purposes of resolving this motion. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). 12:00 a.m., and three days from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.2 FAC ¶ 31. Munoz “was paid the prevailing tip credit minimum wage” from “the start of his employment until the end of his employment.” FAC ¶ 32. In addition to those 43 scheduled hours, Munoz alleges that he was required to arrive thirty

minutes before his shift began every day to polish silverware and set tables. FAC ¶ 33. Two days per week, Munoz was also asked to clean tables and throw out garbage for thirty minutes after his shift ended. FAC ¶ 34. Munoz performed these additional tasks—amounting to 3.5 hours per week—while off-the-clock.3 FAC ¶¶ 33, 34. Munoz further contends that Defendants “failed to pass on all gratuities” owed to him. FAC ¶ 40. Specifically, Munoz complains that “the weekly tip amounts did not vary,” regardless of his workload or the number of customers he served. FAC ¶ 37. Munoz also alleges that he was “required to engage more than 20% of [his] time in non-tipped activities.” FAC ¶ 36. Finally, Munoz contends that Defendants failed to provide him with “proper wage statements” and “wage notice[s].” FAC ¶¶ 68, 69.

Munoz filed this putative class and collective action in May 2022. See Complaint [ECF No. 1]. The FAC—which is not a model of clarity—appears to state the following claims: (1)failure to pay overtime under the FLSA and NYLL; (2) improper retention of tips under the FLSA and NYLL; and (3) failure to provide notices and wage statements under the NYLL. See FAC Prayer for Relief. Defendants move to dismiss the FLSA overtime and tip retention claims

2 The opposition brief indicates that Munoz was scheduled for the 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. shift three (rather than two) days per week and the 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. shift two (rather than three) days per week—for a total of 42 scheduled hours. See Memorandum of Law in Opposition 4 [ECF No. 28]. Because the Court is obligated to accept the allegations of the complaint as true, the Court disregards any contrary assertions in the briefing. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. In any event, this factual discrepancy is immaterial to resolving this motion, because in either case, Munoz worked several hours of scheduled overtime each week. 3 Thirty minutes of pre-clock-in work five times per week (2.5 hours), plus thirty minutes of post-clock-out work twice per week (1 hour) equals 3.5 hours. under Rule 12(b)(6), the NYLL wage notice and statement claim under Rule 12(b)(1), and in addition, ask the Court to decline supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining NYLL claims. See Motion to Dismiss [ECF No. 25]; Memorandum of Law [ECF No. 27] (“Def. Mem.”). Munoz opposed, see Memorandum of Law in Opposition [ECF No. 28] (“Opp.”), and Defendants replied,

see Reply Memorandum of Law [ECF No. 31] (“Reply”). The briefing from both sides was convoluted and difficult to understand. LEGAL STANDARDS I. Rule 12(b)(1): Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction A district court “properly dismisses an action under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction if the court ‘lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it,’ such as when . . . the plaintiff lacks constitutional standing to bring the action.” Cortlandt St. Recovery Corp. v. Hellas Telecomms., S.a.r.l, 790 F.3d 411, 416–17 (2d Cir. 2015) (quoting Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 113 (2d Cir. 2000)). To satisfy the “‘irreducible constitutional minimum’ of standing,” a plaintiff “must have (1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that

is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 338 (2016) (quoting Lujan v.Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992)). The burden is on “those who invoke the power of a federal court to demonstrate standing.” Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc., 568 U.S. 85, 90 (2013). II. Rule 12(b)(6): Failure to State a Claim To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the FAC must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A claim is facially plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal,

556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). While the Court “must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint,” this “tenet . . . is inapplicable to legal conclusions” and “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. ANALYSIS I. Munoz Plausibly Alleges an FLSA Claim for Off-the-Clock Overtime Work, But Does Not Plausibly Allege the Existence of an Invalid Tip Credit The FLSA provides that employees may not work more than forty hours per week unless they are compensated for the additional time “at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.” 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1).4 Munoz raises two different theories with respect to overtime compensation. First, he contends that Defendants failed to compensate him at all for the 3.5 off-the-clock overtime hours

he worked each week. See FAC Prayer for Relief C. Second, with respect to the 3 scheduled overtime hours for which he was compensated, Munoz argues that he was underpaid for that time because Defendants utilized an invalid tip credit. See FAC Prayer for Relief D. a.

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Munoz v. The Group US Management LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/munoz-v-the-group-us-management-llc-nysd-2023.