Sanchez v. Truse Trucking, Inc.

74 F. Supp. 3d 716, 2014 WL 3784109, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104342
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. North Carolina
DecidedJuly 31, 2014
DocketNo. 1:13CV415
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 74 F. Supp. 3d 716 (Sanchez v. Truse Trucking, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sanchez v. Truse Trucking, Inc., 74 F. Supp. 3d 716, 2014 WL 3784109, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104342 (M.D.N.C. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BEATY, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss and Request for Judicial Notice of Facts [Doc. # 7] filed by Defendant Truse Trucking, Inc. (“Defendant”), pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In the underlying action, Plaintiffs Erick Garcia Sanchez, Jose Chan Chaj, Miguel A. Rojas Tumalan, Jonathan Poblete Lemus, Jose V. Perez Morales, Efrain Gonzalez Rubio, Alfonso Gonzalez Rubio, Israel Perez Perez (also known as “Pedro De Jesus de Leon”), Esteban F. Gonzalez Hernandez, Jesus Pelaez Padilla, and Fabian G. Urzua (collectively “Plaintiffs”) assert a claim for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Plaintiffs bring this claim on their own behalf and pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), as potential representatives of a proposed collective action of similarly situated employees.1 For the reasons discussed herein, the Court will deny Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. # 7]. Furthermore, the Court will deny Defendant’s Request for Judicial Notice of Facts [Doc. # 7], but such a denial is without prejudice to Defendant raising such a request at a later stage in this litigation.

1. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The factual allegations of Plaintiffs’ Complaint are taken as true for purposes of Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiffs, and members of the proposed collective action, are former and current employees of Defendant who were employed by Defendant at some time since May 23, 2010, within the three years prior to the filing of the instant Complaint.2 At [719]*719all times relevant to the matters related to the instant action, Plaintiffs, and members of the proposed collective action, were residents of North Carolina. Defendant is a freight shipping and trucking company that runs a distribution and freight hauling business from Greensboro, North Carolina. Plaintiffs and members of the proposed collective action were required to load and unload trucks for Defendant at Defendant’s Greensboro facility and at other merchant facilities where Defendant “distributed foodstuffs and other goods.” (Compl. [Doc.# 1], ¶ 19.) Plaintiffs, and members of the proposed collective action, loaded and unloaded merchandise at merchant locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee. Plaintiffs, and members of the proposed collective action, arrived at work' between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. each day, Monday through Saturday, and left work .between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. each day, Monday through Saturday. Thus, Plaintiffs and members of the proposed collective action worked approximately fifteen hours per day and six days per week for Defendant. Plaintiffs and members of the proposed collective action were not paid on an hourly basis but were paid a flat rate salary on a monthly basis, averaging $1,200.00 to $1,700.00 per month before taxes. Plaintiffs, and members of the proposed collective action, were paid their wages in cash, but they also received payroll stubs showing that state and federal taxes were deducted from their salary. Plaintiffs and members of the proposed collective action were not paid any overtime wages for their work, although they worked more than forty hours per week. Plaintiffs allege that Defendant failed to keep proper records of daily and weekly hours worked by Plaintiffs, and the members of the proposed collective action, and Plaintiffs allege that such a failure to maintain adequate records was willful and in violation of the FLSA. Plaintiffs assert that Defendant “knew or showed reckless disregard as to whether their [sic] conduct was prohibited by the FLSA and its accompanying regulations.” (Compl. at ¶ 38.) Plaintiffs allege that Defendant “engaged in an intentional company policy or plan”, which characterized Plaintiffs and members of the proposed collective action as salaried employees in an effort to avoid paying Plaintiffs and member of the proposed class their appropriate minimum and overtime wages under the FLSA. (Id. at ¶ 25.)

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. # 7] is filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The purpose of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss is to test the legal sufficiency of a complaint. Edwards v. City of Goldsboro, 178 F.3d 231, 243 (4th Cir.1999). A motion made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) “ ‘does not resolve contests surrounding the facts, the merits of a claim, or the applicability of defenses.’ ” Id. at 243-44 (quoting Republican Party v. Martin, 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir.1992)). In [720]*720reviewing a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Fourth Circuit has directed that courts “ ‘take the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff,’ but ‘[they] need not accept the legal conclusions drawn from the facts,’ and ‘[they] need not accept as true unwarranted inferences, unreasonable conclusions, or arguments.’ ” Giarratano v. Johnson, 521 F.3d 298, 302 (4th Cir.2008) (quoting Eastern Shore Mkts., Inc. v. J.D. Assocs. Ltd. P’ship, 213 F.3d 175, 180 (4th Cir.2000)). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)).

“A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. “Where a complaint pleads facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant’s liability, it ‘stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of “entitlement to relief.” ’ ” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (citations omitted). Thus, dismissal of a complaint is proper where plaintiffs factual allegations fail to “produce an inference of liability strong enough to nudge the plaintiffs claims ‘across the line from conceivablé to plausible.’ ” Nemet Chevrolet, Ltd. v. Consumeraffairs.com, Inc., 591 F.3d 250, 256 (4th Cir.2009) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 683, 129 S.Ct. 1937).

III. FLSA CLAIM

A. Whether Plaintiffs pled sufficient facts to state claims under 29 U.S.C. §§ 206 & 207.

Plaintiffs bring their claims pursuant to 29 U.S.C.

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

Related

WADE v. JMJ ENTERPRISES, LLC
M.D. North Carolina, 2023
Figueroa v. Butterball, LLC
E.D. North Carolina, 2022
Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. Advanced Home Care, Inc.
305 F. Supp. 3d 672 (M.D. North Carolina, 2018)
Alston v. DIRECTV, Inc.
254 F. Supp. 3d 765 (D. South Carolina, 2017)
Rehberg v. Flowers Baking Co. of Jamestown, LLC
162 F. Supp. 3d 490 (W.D. North Carolina, 2016)
Govan v. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
146 F. Supp. 3d 763 (D. South Carolina, 2015)
Ketner v. Branch Banking & Trust Co.
143 F. Supp. 3d 370 (M.D. North Carolina, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
74 F. Supp. 3d 716, 2014 WL 3784109, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sanchez-v-truse-trucking-inc-ncmd-2014.