Shultz v. Circulation Sales, Inc.

301 F. Supp. 937, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13441
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedApril 25, 1969
DocketCiv. A. No. 68C 56(1)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 301 F. Supp. 937 (Shultz v. Circulation Sales, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shultz v. Circulation Sales, Inc., 301 F. Supp. 937, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13441 (E.D. Mo. 1969).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

HARPER, Chief Judge.

This is a suit under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., in which the Secretary under section 17 seeks to enjoin the defendants from violating the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions under section 15(a) (2) and (a) (5), and further for the restraint of any withholding of minimum wage or overtime compensation. The basic contention of the defendants is that they are without the coverage of the Act in that they are independent contractors, engaged in a “service” business, and that the employees involved, the telephone solicitors, are not engaged in interstate commerce nor in the production of goods for commerce.

If the Act is applicable to the businesses involved under the new enterprise coverage of section 203 or if it is applicable to the employees involved under the traditional coverage provisions, there is no doubt as to the violation of the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions. From the evidence it is unquestionably clear that the defendants have made no effort to comply, believing themselves to be outside the coverage of the Act.

The testimony, exhibits and stipulations of the parties reveal the following facts:

Prior to the creation of the defendant, Circulation Sales, Inc., the defendant, Earl R. Milne, was the president of another Michigan corporation, Milne Circulation Sales, Inc., formed on October 25, 1958. This corporation conducted the same basic business as does this defendant, with many, if not all, of the same customers (excepting those new ones). However, Milne Circulation Sales, Inc., apparently utilized a different form of organization.

On April 12, 1966, the name, Circulation Sales of St. Louis, was registered under the Missouri Fictitious Name Statute. On April 18, 1968, the defendant, Circulation Sales, Inc., was incorporated in Michigan. This corporation is owned by the same individuals who previously owned the Milne corporation, with the addition of one new stockholder. In addition, the stock of the new corporation is held in different proportions and the stock structure is different.

In the year 1966, the Department of Labor was in the process of investigating Milne Circulation Sales, Inc., and as a result of this investigation litigation was commenced in the United States District Court in the District of Maryland. That litigation, charging a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, was terminated on May 23, 1966, when a consent judgment was entered. On that same day, the Milne Corporation was adjudicated voluntarily bankrupt. At this juncture the St. Louis operation of Milne was being run by one James McDowell. This individual was the one who registered the name of Circulation Sales of St. Louis. He was denominated the “franchisee” of the new corporation and continued business in St. Louis without interruption or change in customers or method of operation. In June of 1966, McDowell retired and Earl R. Milne became the “franchisee” and purchased the assets of the franchise for some $200.00.

As mentioned, the sole differentiating factor between the business of the two corporations is one of form except for one new stockholder and the stock structure. While the evidence does not present a very clear picture of the oper[939]*939ation of Milne Corporation, it appears that it operated directly in the cities in which it had a contract to procure subscriptions. Circulation Sales, Inc., has on the other hand adopted the “franchise” form of operation. Circulation Sales, Inc., procures contracts with various newspapers in the United States under the terms of which it is given the exclusive right to obtain new newspaper subscriptions for that paper. To do this, it conducts a concerted effort to acquire and maintain these contracts by advertising its business in national .and local trade journals and other publications; by direct contact with the papers themselves; and by attendance, participation and advertising at various appropriate conventions throughout the United States. As a result of these efforts, it now has contracts with newspapers in some twenty-one cities scattered around the United States, and in the past has had some thirty others. The evidence indicates that the St. Louis operation is typical.

Circulation Sales, Inc., has an oral contract with the St. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper. Its obligations under that contract are fulfilled by its local franchisee, Earl R. Milne. Under their arrangement, discussed more fully hereafter, Circulation Sales of St. Louis solicits new subscriptions for the Globe-Democrat. Those procured are in turn “sold” to Circulation Sales, Inc., at a rate fixed in the franchise agreement. Circulation Sales, Inc., then in turn sells these subscriptions to the Globe-Democrat at their agreed price. The Globe-Democrat pays Circulation Sales, Inc., by check deposited in the corporate account maintained at the City Bank in St. Louis. Circulation Sales, Inc., then issues the appropriate check to Earl R. Milne, d/b/a Circulation Sales of St. Louis, and mails this check to the City Bank for deposit in Milne’s account. The local manager for Milne computes the commissions due the telephone solicitors and draws upon this account to pay them. If any subscription procured by a solicitor is canceled before nine weeks have expired, or if the Globe rejects any subscription so obtained for any reason, the Globe makes an appropriate charge back to Circulation Sales, Inc., and so on until that charge is made against the commissions earned by the individual involved.

The franchise agreement with Earl R. Milne gives the corporation a wide breadth of control over the franchise operation. The franchisee is required to use the name, Circulation Sales of St. Louis, but is prohibited from using that name after the franchise is over. A minimum quota, here 2,000 new subscriptions per four weeks, is set in accordance with the corporation’s contract with the paper involved. The franchisee’s scope of operation is limited. The making or retention of customer or solicitation lists is prohibited. The corporation retains the right to audit all records. The corporation may require a cash bond upon request. The franchise may be terminated upon thirty days’ notice. The franchisee may not join any other party in the business.

Further, the franchisee must solicit and sell in compliance with other terms and conditions set by the newspaper involved; and further, the corporation requires certain weekly progress reports and furnishes all of the forms necessary. The precise local territories in which sales presentations may be made are designated by the newspaper. The term for which the subscription must be offered is set, here thirteen weeks. The sales presentation forms are supplied and changed as the paper devises new gimmicks to enhance sales, such as a cash contribution to some charity in the name of the subscriber if he will subscribe now for thirteen weeks. In addition, the corporation is provided with free advertising service in the paper for solicitors, which the franchisee may, and here often did, use to hire the solicitors.

Although the franchisee is required to establish and maintain his own local solicitations operations, it is clear that much practical control is exercised and exercisable by the corporation and the [940]*940newspaper. In the instant case, the extent to which this is or was done is indefinable because of the identity of person and interest of the franchisee himself and the corporation’s chief officer, Mr. Milne.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
301 F. Supp. 937, 1969 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13441, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shultz-v-circulation-sales-inc-moed-1969.