Snively v. Peak Pressure Control, LLC

174 F. Supp. 3d 953, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142918, 2016 WL 5791265
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 29, 2016
DocketNO. MO:15-CV-00134-RAJ-DC
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 174 F. Supp. 3d 953 (Snively v. Peak Pressure Control, LLC) 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
Snively v. Peak Pressure Control, LLC, 174 F. Supp. 3d 953, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142918, 2016 WL 5791265 (W.D. Tex. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART MOTION FOR CONDITIONAL CERTIFICATION

ROBERT A. JUNELL, Senior United States District Judge

BEFORE THE COURT is a Motion for Notice to Potential Plaintiffs and Conditional Certification (Doc. 33) filed by Plaintiffs Jason Snively, Stephen Clark, and all others similarly situated under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) (“Plaintiffs”), and Defendants Peak Pressure Control, LLC and Nine Energy Service, LLC’s (“Defendants”) Response in Opposition. (Doc. 50). After careful consideration of the Parties’ briefing and the relevant law, Plaintiffs’ motion for conditional certification and notice to potential class members shall be GRANTED in part. (Doc. 33).

I. Background Facts and Procedural History

This case arises out of Plaintiffs’ employment by Defendants as Pressure Control Operators. Plaintiffs brings this action individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) against Defendants, asserting violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq, (Doc. 1). Plaintiffs allege that “Defendants are involved in oilfield services nationwide.” (Id. at 3). Plaintiffs state that they are “Pressure Control Operators [who] were required to work on site for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for weeks at a time in the oilfields.” (Id. at 1). According to Plaintiffs, these “Pressure Control Operators, however, never received overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 in a single workweek.” (Id.).

Plaintiffs allege that instead “of paying overtime, Defendants paid Plaintiffs a base salary and bonus payments for their work.” (Id.). As stated in the Complaint, “Defendants knowingly, willfully, or with reekless disregard carried out their illegal pattern or practice of failing to pay overtime and minimum compensation with respect to Plaintiffs and the Class Members.” (Id. at 5). Plaintiffs seek unpaid overtime wages, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees and costs. (Id. at 1).

On December 14, 2015, Plaintiffs filed a motion seeking conditional certification of this lawsuit as a collective action under the FLSA. (Doc. 33). Plaintiffs assert there are other similarly situated individuals whose rights under the FLSA have been violated by Defendants and request that those individuals be permitted to opt-in to [957]*957this action. (Id.). The Parties have filed responsive pleadings to the Motion for Conditional Certification and the matters are now ripe for determination.

II. Standard of Review

An employee may bring an action for violating the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA either individually or as a collective action on behalf of himself and “other employees similarly situated.” 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). Unlike a class action filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c), a collective action under Section 216(b) provides for a procedure to “opt-in,” rather than “opt-out.” Roussell v. Blinker Int’l, Inc., 441 Fed.Appx. 222, 225 (5th Cir.2011) (unpublished) (citing Sandoz v. Cingular Wireless LLC, 553 F.3d 913, 916 (5th Cir.2008)). Although the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has declined to adopt a specific test to determine when a court should conditionally certify a class or grant notice in a case brought under the FLSA, the majority of courts within the Fifth Circuit have adopted the Lusardi two-stage approach, after Lusardi v. Xerox Corp., 118 F.R.D. 351 (D.N.J.1987).1

The two stages of the Lusardi approach are the “notice stage” and the “decertification stage.” See Mooney v. Aramco Servs. Co., 54 F.3d 1207, 1216 (5th Cir.1995), overruled on other grounds by Desert Palace, Inc., v. Costa, 539 U.S. 90, 123 S.Ct. 2148, 156 L.Ed.2d 84 (2003). At the notice stage, the district court “determines whether the putative class members’ claims are sufficiently similar to -merit sending notice of the action to possible members of the class.” Acevedo v. Allsup’s Convenience Stores, Inc., 600 F.3d 516, 519 (5th Cir.2010). “Because the court has minimal evidence, this determination is made using a fairly lenient standard, and typically results in ‘conditional certification’ of a representative class.” Mooney, 54 F.3d at 1214. If the court finds that the putative class members are similarly situated, then conditional certification is warranted and the plaintiff will be given the opportunity to send notice to potential class members. Id. After the class members have opted in and discovery is complete, the defendant may then file a decertification motion — the second stage of the Lusardi approach— asking the court to reassess whether the class members are similarly situated. Id. At that point, the court will fully evaluate the merits of the class certification. Id.

III. Discussion

Plaintiffs seek conditional certification on behalf of a class of similarly situated persons. Accordingly, the Court need only address the first stage of the Lusardi inquiry. Plaintiffs must show that “(1) there is a reasonable basis for crediting the assertion that aggrieved individuals exist; (2) those aggrieved individuals are similarly situated to the plaintiff in relevant respects given the claims and defenses^ asserted; and (3) those individuals want to opt in to the lawsuit.” Tolentino v. C & J Spec-Rent Servs., Inc., 716 F.Supp.2d 642, 647 (S.D.Tex.2010). During the notice stage, the court makes its decision “usually based only on the pleadings and any affidavits which have been submitted[.]” Id. Courts “appear to require nothing more than substantial allegations that the putative class members were together the victims of a single decision, policy, or plan [958]*958infected by discrimination.” Mooney, 54 F.3d at 1214 n. 8. “FLSA collective actions are generally favored because such actions reduce litigation costs for the individual plaintiffs and create judicial efficiency by resolving in one proceeding common issues of law and fact arising from the same alleged activity.” Tolentino, 716 F.Supp.2d at 646.

Here, Plaintiffs seek certification with respect to:

All pressure control operators who were employed by Nine Energy Services, LLC or Peak Pressure Control, LLC from August 26, 2012 to the present who were paid in whole or in part on a salary basis.

(Doc. 33 at 4). Plaintiffs’ request is supported by the Declarations of Randy Mark Pool (Id. at Exhibit C), Kerry Sullivan (Id. at Exhibit D), James Tippie Jr. (Id.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
174 F. Supp. 3d 953, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142918, 2016 WL 5791265, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/snively-v-peak-pressure-control-llc-txwd-2016.