Sehr v. Val Verde Hosp. Corp.

368 F. Supp. 3d 1106
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 27, 2019
DocketCivil Action No. DR-17-CV-065-AM-VRG
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 368 F. Supp. 3d 1106 (Sehr v. Val Verde Hosp. Corp.) 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
Sehr v. Val Verde Hosp. Corp., 368 F. Supp. 3d 1106 (W.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

ALIA MOSES, United States District Judge

The Plaintiff's Opposed Motion for Equitable Tolling of Statutes of Limitation on Claims of Putative Collective Action Members *1108(ECF No. 24) is pending before the Court. The Court conditionally certified this Fair Labor Standards Act suit as a collective action by the entry of an agreed conditional certification order ("the Certification Order") on May 15, 2018. On May 14, 2018, the day prior to the entry of the Certification Order, the Plaintiff filed the pending motion for equitable tolling. In the motion, the Plaintiff asks the Court to equitably toll the applicable statute of limitations from March 20, 2018 - the date the parties moved for the Court's approval of their stipulation of conditional certification - to May 15, 2018, the date on which the Court entered the Certification Order. (Pl.'s Mot. 1, ECF No. 24.)

A general claim for a FLSA violation is subject to a two-year statute of limitations which is extended one additional year for claims involving a "willful" violation. 29 U.S.C. § 255(b). The limitations period for a FLSA collective action runs until the plaintiff or a putative class member opts-in by filing a notice of consent or filing suit. Id. § 256. "The doctrine of equitable tolling preserves a plaintiff's claims when strict application of the statute of limitations would be inequitable." United States v. Patterson , 211 F.3d 927, 930 (5th Cir. 2000) (per curiam). Relying primarily on Holmberg v. Armbrecht , 327 U.S. 392, 397, 66 S.Ct. 582, 90 L.Ed. 743 (1946), which held that the limitations period of every federal statute is subject to equitable tolling, federal district courts have expressed a willingness to equitably toll the FLSA's limitations period in appropriate circumstances. See, e.g., Gutierrez v. Drill Cuttings Disposal Co. , 319 F.Supp.3d 856, 860 (W.D. Tex. 2018) ; Ferguson v. Tex. Farm Bur. , 307 F.Supp.3d 577, 581-82 (W.D. Tex. 2018) ; Shidler v. Alarm Sec. Grp., LLC , 919 F.Supp.2d 827, 831 (S.D. Tex. 2012).

Whether to equitably toll a limitations period is a decision that lies within a district court's discretion. Fisher v. Johnson , 174 F.3d 710, 713 (5th Cir. 1999). Nevertheless, the Fifth Circuit has cautioned that equitable tolling should only be applied in "rare and exceptional circumstances." Davis v. Johnson , 158 F.3d 806, 811 (5th Cir. 1998). "Equitable tolling applies principally where the plaintiff is actively misled by the defendant about the cause of action or is prevented in some extraordinary way from asserting his rights." Patterson , 211 F.3d at 930 (quotation omitted). Although equitable tolling is a power that should be employed "sparingly," courts have been willing to use it where the plaintiff diligently has pursued relief but an extraordinary circumstance stood in his way. See United States v. Petty , 530 F.3d 361, 365 (5th Cir. 2008) (per curiam) (quotation omitted); see also Sandoz v. Cingular Wireless , LLC, 700 F. App'x 317, 320 (5th Cir. 2017) (per curiam). An "extraordinary circumstance" is one that "derives from some external obstacle to timely filing beyond the plaintiff's control, not from self-inflicted delay." Sandoz , 700 F. App'x at 320. Further, "[t]he diligence required for equitable tolling purposes is reasonable diligence, not maximum feasible diligence." Holland v. Florida , 560 U.S. 631, 653, 130 S.Ct. 2549, 177 L.Ed.2d 130 (2010) (internal citations and quotations omitted); accord Henderson v. Thaler , 626 F.3d 773, 778 (5th Cir. 2010). "Whether diligence is reasonable is an equitable, often fact-intensive inquiry in which courts are instructed to avoid mechanical rules and instead to draw upon decisions made in other similar cases for guidance." Palacios v. Stephens , 723 F.3d 600, 605 (5th Cir. 2013) (quotations omitted). Thus, whether a limitations period should be equitably tolled depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. Patterson , 211 F.3d at 931. "The party who *1109invokes equitable tolling bears the burden of proof." Teemac v. Henderson , 298 F.3d 452, 457 (5th Cir. 2002).

To support his request for equitable tolling, the Plaintiff relies largely on the decision announced in

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368 F. Supp. 3d 1106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sehr-v-val-verde-hosp-corp-txwd-2019.