Olivas v. C & S Oilfield Servs., LLC

349 F. Supp. 3d 1092
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Mexico
DecidedApril 27, 2018
DocketNo. CIV 17-0022 JB\CG
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 349 F. Supp. 3d 1092 (Olivas v. C & S Oilfield Servs., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Mexico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Olivas v. C & S Oilfield Servs., LLC, 349 F. Supp. 3d 1092 (D.N.M. 2018).

Opinion

James O. Browning, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Plaintiffs' Motion for Notice to Potential Plaintiffs and Conditional Certification, filed April 11, 2017 (Doc. 16)("Notice Motion"). The Court held a hearing on January 25, 2018. The primary issue is whether Plaintiff A.J. Olivas' proposed class members are similarly situated such that the Court should authorize providing them notice of their right to opt in to Olivas' collective action against Defendants C & S Oilfield Services, LLC, Dewey Coffman, *1097and Brett Coffman (collectively, "C & S Oilfield") under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 - 219 ("FLSA"). The Court concludes that Olivas' allegations and proposed class members' affidavits establish that he and the proposed class members are similarly situated. Accordingly, the Court grants the Notice Motion and authorizes Olivas to notify the proposed class of his collective action.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

C & S Oilfield is a Louisiana-based company that "provid[es] water transfer and other ... services" to New Mexico oilfields. Collective Class Action Complaint ¶ 18, at 4, filed January 9, 2017 (Doc. 1)("Complaint"). D. Coffman and B. Coffman are C & S Oilfield' owners. See Complaint ¶¶ 8-9, at 3. Olivas worked for C & S Oilfield "operat[ing] ... oilfield equipment, completing daily checklists, and performing other manual/technical labor at oilfield sites." Complaint ¶ 19, at 5. According to affidavits, Olivas and other C & S Oilfield employees regularly worked over eighty hours per week but did not receive overtime pay. See Complaint ¶ 20, at 5-6; 28 U.S.C. § 1746 Declaration and Consent of A.J. Olivas in Support of Proceeding as a Collective Action ¶ 4, at 2 (dated January 25, 2017), filed April 11, 2017 (Doc. 16-3) ("Olivas Aff."); 28 U.S.C. § 1746 Declaration and Consent of Eric Holloway in Support of Proceeding as a Collective Action ¶ 4, at 2 (dated January 25, 2017), filed April 11, 2017 (Doc. 16-4)("Holloway Aff."); 28 U.S.C. § 1746 Declaration and Consent of Joseph Wright in Support of Proceeding as a Collective Action ¶ 4, at 2 (dated January 25, 2017), filed April 11, 2017 (Doc. 16-5)("Wright Aff."); 28 U.S.C. § 1746 Declaration and Consent of Michael Ward in Support of Proceeding as a Collective Action ¶ 4, at 2 (dated January 25, 2017), filed April 11, 2017 (Doc. 16-6)("Ward Aff."); 28 U.S.C. § 1746 Declaration and Consent of Wayne Reinhart in Support of Proceeding as a Collective Action ¶ 4, at 2 (dated January 25, 2017), filed April 11, 2017 (Doc. 16-7)("Reinhart Aff."); 28 U.S.C. § 1746 Declaration and Consent of Roman Lambertt in Support of Proceeding as a Collective Action ¶ 4, at 2 (dated January 25, 2017), filed April 11, 2017 (Doc. 16-8)("Lambertt Aff.").

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In the Complaint, Olivas alleges that C & S Oilfield did not pay him or other workers overtime pay. See Complaint ¶¶ 2-3, at 1-2. He brings a class action under rule 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for C & S Oilfield's alleged violation of the New Mexico Minimum Wage Act, N.M. Stat. Ann. § 50-4-22(D) ("NMMWA"). See Complaint ¶ 5, at 2. He also brings a FLSA collective action against Oilfield Services. See Complaint ¶ 6, at 2-3. In the Defendants' Answer to Collective and Class Action Complaint, filed March 29, 2017 (Doc. 9) ("Answer"), C & S Oilfield asserts several affirmative defenses: (i) Olivas and the putative class have failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; (ii) it paid its workers what they were owed, and it acted in good faith to comply with and in fact did not violate applicable law; (iii) Olivas' action should not be a collective or class action; (iv) Olivas is not similarly situated with the putative class members; (v) "any alleged violation would be subject to the de minimus doctrine"; (vi) Olivas and the proposed class did not work more than forty hours during any week; (v) Olivas and the proposed class have failed to mitigate their damages; (vi) it is entitled to "set off and/or credit for any amounts earned in mitigation"; (vii) it had no knowledge or reason to know that Olivas and the putative class worked in excess of forty hours per week; (viii) the statute of limitations and/or the doctrine of laches bars some or all of the claims against it; (ix) if *1098Olivas and the putative class are entitled to overtime pay, "they would be entitled to overtime premium only"; and (x) Olivas lacks standing. Answer ¶¶ 36-50, at 4-5.

1. The Notice Motion.

In the Notice Motion, Olivas asks that the Court permit Olivas to issue a notice to "a limited group of Defendants' current and former employees" so that they can decide whether to opt in to Olivas' collective action pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). Notice Motion at 1-2. Olivas defines the target group as "[a]ll field personnel employed by Defendants over the last three years who received pay on a salary basis. This Definition includes, but is not limited to, ... positions referred to by Defendants as field hands, lead hands, water transfer technicians, crew leaders, laborers, crewmembers, tank hands, and team leaders." Notice Motion at 4. Olivas asserts that, for a court to permit a plaintiff to send out a FLSA collective action notice, a plaintiff needs to make substantial allegations or to provide some factual support that there is a basis for a collective action. See Notice Motion at 6.

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Bluebook (online)
349 F. Supp. 3d 1092, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/olivas-v-c-s-oilfield-servs-llc-nmd-2018.