San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority v. McLaughlin

684 F. Supp. 158, 28 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1201, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9323, 1988 WL 34678
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 25, 1988
DocketCiv. A. No. SA-79-CA-457
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 684 F. Supp. 158 (San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority v. McLaughlin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority v. McLaughlin, 684 F. Supp. 158, 28 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1201, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9323, 1988 WL 34678 (W.D. Tex. 1988).

Opinion

ORDER

PRADO, District Judge.

On this date came on to be considered Defendant-Intervenor Joe G. Garcia’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Liability of SAMTA for Attorney’s Fees and Costs, filed in the above-styled and numbered cause on October 28, 1985.

Judgment was entered in this case on October 18, 1985. The sole issue raised in Defendant-Intervenor’s post-judgment motion is whether Plaintiff San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority is liable to Defendant-Intervenor for the attorneys’ fees and court costs incurred by Defendant-In-tervenor in the prosecution of this case. The Court is of the opinion that Defendant-Intervenor is not so entitled. The motion shall be denied.

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This case originated as a declaratory judgment action filed on November 21, 1979 by Plaintiff against the Secretary of Labor. In the action, Plaintiff sought a declaration that it was protected by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution from enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. (“FLSA”). As authority for this position, Plaintiff relied on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833, 96 S.Ct. 2465, 49 L.Ed.2d 245 (1976). On the same day and subsequent to the filing of this action, Defendant-Intervenor and other employees of Plaintiff filed a complaint against Plaintiff for enforcement of the overtime provisions of the FLSA.

On March 19, 1980, Defendant-Inter-venor’s separate lawsuit was stayed while the instant action against the Secretary of Labor was being litigated. The reason for the stay was the identity of issues raised in [160]*160the two actions. The Court sought to avoid duplicative efforts and costs in each of the actions. Nothing further occurred in Defendant-Intervenor’s separate case until the resolution of the instant action.

On February 8, 1980, the Secretary of Labor filed its answer and counterclaimed for injunctive relief against Plaintiff for violation of the FLSA. The Secretary sought an injunction against continued withholding of any back overtime pay owed to Plaintiff’s employees since February 4, 1978.

On April 10, 1980, Defendant-Intervenor filed his motion to intervene as a “third-party defendant.” Defendant-Intervenor did not seek to intervene as an additional counter-plaintiff to the Secretary’s counterclaim and was, in fact, statutorily barred from doing so. See 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). On July 13, 1981, the Court permitted Defendant-Intervenor to intervene as a defendant.

This case was subsequently appealed as far as the United States Supreme Court, and on February 19, 1985, the Supreme Court rendered its decision. See Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528, 105 S.Ct. 1005, 83 L.Ed.2d 1016 (1985). In that decision, the Supreme Court expressly overruled National League of Cities and held that the FLSA can be constitutionally applied to all state and local government employees, including those of Plaintiff, without violating the Tenth Amendment. Garcia, 469 U.S. at 556-57, 105 S.Ct. at 1020. The Supreme Court addressed only this constitutional issue. It did not decide the Secretary’s counterclaim.

On October 16, 1985, the parties to this cause signed a Stipulation of Dismissal, and on October 18, 1985, the Court entered a judgment agreed upon by the parties. As part of their agreement, the parties permitted the Secretary to withdraw its counterclaim so that the right of certain of Plaintiff’s employees to become plaintiffs in Defendant-Intervenor’s separate lawsuit would not be terminated.

On October 28, 1985, Defendant-Inter-venor filed the motion now at issue.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard for Summary Judgment

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) provides that a party is entitled to summary judgment if “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact.” Summary judgment “is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2555, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 1). As the Celotex Court further noted:

[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment ... against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.

Id. at 2552-53.

In order to defeat such a motion, therefore, the party opposing a summary judgment motion must do more than create a suspicion that his position can be supported. As stated in Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986):

If the defendant in a run-of-the-mill civil case moves for summary judgment ... based on lack of proof of a material fact, the judge must ask himself ... whether a fair-minded jury could return a verdict for the plaintiff on the evidence presented. The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of plaintiff’s position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff. The judge’s inquiry, therefore, unavoidably asks whether reasonable jurors could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff is entitled to a verdict.

After due consideration of the arguments and evidence presented by counsel, the Court is of the opinion that Defendant-Intervenor is not entitled to summary judgment. Based on the reasoning given be[161]*161low, the Court shall deny Defendant-Inter-venor’s motion.

B. The FLSA’s Attorney’s Fee Provision Is Inapplicable

The main thrust of Defendant-Inter-venor’s argument for attorney’s fees and court costs in this case is that pursuant to the FLSA, specifically pursuant to 29 U.S. C. § 216(b), Defendant-Intervenor is entitled to its fees and costs as a successful litigant of an FLSA action. The statute provides in pertinent part:

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684 F. Supp. 158, 28 Wage & Hour Cas. (BNA) 1201, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9323, 1988 WL 34678, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/san-antonio-metropolitan-transit-authority-v-mclaughlin-txwd-1988.