Rosario-Guerrro v. Orange Blossom Harvesting, Inc.

265 F.R.D. 619, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15739, 2010 WL 672808
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 23, 2010
DocketNo. 2:09-cv-106-FtM-29DNF
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 265 F.R.D. 619 (Rosario-Guerrro v. Orange Blossom Harvesting, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rosario-Guerrro v. Orange Blossom Harvesting, Inc., 265 F.R.D. 619, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15739, 2010 WL 672808 (M.D. Fla. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN E. STEELE, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on a Report and Recommendation (Doc. # 33) by Magistrate Judge Douglas N. Frazier recommending that plaintiffs’ Motion for Declaration of a Class Action (Doc. # 27) be granted. Defendants’ Objections (Doc. # 34) were filed on February 16, 2010. Also before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion to Drop Bernardo Flores-Gallegos As A Party Plaintiff (Doc. # 35), filed on February 17, 2010. For the reasons set forth below, both motions will be granted.

I.

After conducting a careful and complete review of the findings and recommendations, a district judge may accept, reject or modify the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Williams v. Wainwright, 681 F.2d 732, 732 (11th Cir. 1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1112, 103 S.Ct. 744, 74 L.Ed.2d 964 (1983). A district judge “shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). This requires that the district judge “give fresh consideration to those issues to which specific objection has been made by a party.” Jeffrey S. v. State Bd. of Educ. of Ga., 896 F.2d 507, 512 (11th Cir.1990) (quoting H.R. 1609, 94th Cong., § 2 (1976)). The district judge reviews legal conclusions de novo, even in the absence of an objection. See Cooper-Houston v. Southern Ry. Co., 37 F.3d 603, 604 (11th Cir.1994).

II.

Defendants raise five objections to the Report and Recommendation, which are resolved as follows:

(1) Defendants’ first objection borders on frivolous. They object that the “Facts” section of the Report and Recommendation “parrots” the Amended Complaint, and object to the acceptance of all such statements as facts. The Report and Recommendation begins this section by stating: “The facts, as set forth in the Amended Complaint ... are as follows.” In addition, footnote 2 notes that “the Court makes no ruling on the merits of these facts.” Defendants’ objection is overruled.

(2) The Court agrees with the treatment of the declarations, and therefore overrules the second objection.

(3) The Court agrees with and adopts the Report and Recommendation as to class certification as to the state law breach of contract claims. The third objection is therefore overruled.

(4) The fourth objection is moot in light of the agreed dismissal of Bernardo Gallegos-Flores as a named plaintiff.

(5) The Court rejects defendants’ fifth objection. The plaintiffs have submitted themselves to the jurisdiction of the court by filing the complaint. Should they not comply with the requirements imposed upon a plaintiff, including providing appropriate discovery, defendants may seek relief. Anticipating such non-compliance, however, is not a basis to deny the motion for class certification.

Accordingly, it is now

ORDERED:

1. The Defendants’ Objections (Doc. # 4) are OVERRULED, and the Report and Recommendation (Doc. # 33) is ACCEPTED AND ADOPTED.
2. The Motion for Declaration of a Class Action (Doc. #27) is GRANTED and the class is defined as follows:
[622]*622All H-2A temporary foreign workers who were employed pursuant to a temporary labor certification issued to Orange Blossom Harvesting, Inc. for work during the 2007-2008 south-central Florida citrus harvest.

3. The Unopposed Motion to Drop Bernardo Flores-Gallegos As A Party Plaintiff (Doc. #35) is GRANTED, and Bernardo Flores-Gallegos is dropped as a named plaintiff in this case. The Clerk of the Court shall terminate this plaintiff and the parties shall delete his name as a plaintiff in all future filings. He shall remain a member of the certified class.

DONE AND ORDERED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

DOUGLAS N. FRAZIER, United States Magistrate Judge.

TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

This cause came on for consideration on the following motion filed herein:

MOTION: MOTION FOR DECLARATION OF A CLASS ACTION (Doc. No. 27)

FILED: November 2, 2009

THEREON it is RECOMMENDED that the motion be GRANTED.

This action was filed by migrant farm-workers against their employer the Defendants, Orange Blossom Harvesting, Inc. (“Orange Blossom”) and Cary Mercer. The Plaintiffs assert claims for Breach of Employment Contract (Count I); violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1801 et seq. (Count II); violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201, et seq. (Count III); and violations of the Minimum Wage Provisions of the Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 24 (Count IV).1 The Motion for Declaration of a Class Action (Doc. 27) was referred to his Court by Order (Doc. 30) entered on November 17, 2009 by the Honorable John E. Steele, United States District Judge, for a report and recommendation. On November 16, 2009, the Defendants filed a Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification (Doc. 28). This Court entered an Order (Doc. 31) on December 7, 2009, which required the Plaintiffs to supplement their Motion for Declaration of Class Action, and the Plaintiffs filed their Supplement to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Declaration of Class Action (Doc. 32) on December 21, 2009. The Court has carefully reviewed the submissions of the parties.

I. Facts

The facts, as set forth in the Amended Complaint for Damages, Declaratory Relief, Costs of Litigation, and Attorney’s Fees (Doc. 25) are as follows.2 The Plaintiffs are 18 migrant farmworkers workers. (Com. ¶ 1). The Plaintiffs were employed by the Defendants to hand-pick citrus fruit in south-central Florida during the 2007-2008 harvest season. (Com ¶ 1). The Defendants employed two distinct groups of migrant workers during the 2007-2008 citrus harvest. (ComV 3). The first group was comprised of “guest workers” recruited from Mexico pursuant to the temporary agricultural work visa program, commonly known as the “H-2A program.” (ComJ 3). These guest workers had written contracts with the Defendant Orange Blossom that included representations regarding wages, hours and working conditions. (Com.f 3). The second group of migrant workers were recruited within the United States and the Plaintiffs delineated these workers as “migrant agricultural workers.” (Com^4). The Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants breached the employment contracts by failing to pay the promised wages for the hours worked, failing to provide tools free of charge, and failing to reimburse the H-2A worker Plaintiffs for the costs they incurred. (Com^ 5).

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Bluebook (online)
265 F.R.D. 619, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15739, 2010 WL 672808, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rosario-guerrro-v-orange-blossom-harvesting-inc-flmd-2010.