Tomlin v. JCS Enterprises, Inc.

13 F. Supp. 3d 1330, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50197, 2014 WL 1396433
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMarch 28, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 1:12-CV-3986-AT
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 13 F. Supp. 3d 1330 (Tomlin v. JCS Enterprises, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tomlin v. JCS Enterprises, Inc., 13 F. Supp. 3d 1330, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50197, 2014 WL 1396433 (N.D. Ga. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

AMY TOTENBERG, District Judge.

This action arises from Defendants’ alleged failure to pay Plaintiff overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq. Defendants seek summary judgment in their favor, arguing that Plaintiff is exempt from the FLSA’s overtime requirements under the FLSA’s Motor Carrier Act (“MCA”) exemption. For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 30] and DENIES Defendants’ Motion to Strike Portions of Declaration of Plaintiff1 [Doc. 41].

1. Background 2

Defendant JCS Enterprises, Inc., a Georgia corporation, is primarily a trailer dealership that buys, sells, and rents used tractors, trailers and containers.3 (Defs.’ Statement of Material Facts (“Defs.’ SMF”) ¶¶1, 4-5; Pl.’s Resp. to Defs.’ Statement of Material Facts (Pl.’s Resp. SMF) ¶¶ 1, 4-5.) Defendant John O. [1333]*1333Scott, Jr. is the President of JCS and manages its day-to-day operations. (Defs.’ SMF ¶¶ 2-3; Pl.’s Resp. SMF ¶¶ 2-3.)

JCS was classified as a private motor carrier by the United States Department of Transportation (“USDOT”) and was assigned a motor carrier identification number by USDOT from 2009-2012, the relevant time period for purposes of this litigation. (Defs.’ SMF ¶¶ 11-12; Pl.’s Resp. SMF ¶¶ 11-12.) JCS’s operations were subject to regulation and inspection by the USDOT and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (Defs.’ SMF ¶¶ 13-15; Pl.’s Resp. SMF ¶¶13-15; Scott Aff., Exs. A & B.) During the time period 2009 to 2012, JCS owned four tractors used by its drivers for delivering and retrieving trailers, each weighing more than 10,000 pounds. (Defs.’ SMF ¶ 30; Pl.’s Resp. SMF ¶ 30; Scott Aff. ¶ 20, Ex. C.)

The JCS truck yard is located in Conley, Georgia. (Defs.’ SMF ¶ 56; see generally PL’s Resp. SMF.) As part of its operations as a trailer dealership, JCS transports trailers that it sells, leases, and purchases to and from customers in Georgia and nationwide. (Defs.’ SMF ¶¶ 16-17; Pl.’s Resp. SMF ¶ 16; Scott Dep. at 23, 71, 74, 82, 91, 96, 111-112; Scott Aff., Exs. D-V; Tomlin Dep. at 8.) Plaintiff Robert G. Tomlin was employed as a truck driver for JCS from 2009-2012.4 (Defs.’ SMF ¶¶ 6-7; PL’s Resp. SMF ¶¶ 6-7.) Mr. Tomlin has a commercial driver’s license and drove JCS trucks on interstate highways, including Interstates 75 and 285. (Defs.’ SMF ¶¶ 8, 34; PL’s Resp. SMF ¶¶ 8, 34; Tomlin Dep. at 43.) His job duties included transporting trailers for sale, lease, and purchase either to or from various freight terminals in Georgia or directly to customers located less than a 4 to 5 hour driving radius from the JCS facility. (Defs.’ SMF ¶ 36; PL’s Resp. SMF ¶ 36; Tomlin Dep. at 12-13, 19-25, 30-31, 42-43.) Mr. Tomlin’s daily trips from 2009 to 2012 were mainly in the state of Georgia. (Tomlin Dep. at 10,19, 21, 31, 38, 61,101.) According to Mr. Tomlin, he rarely made deliveries to out of state customers. (Id. at 19-20, 38, 97, 100-102; PL’s Resp. SMF ¶ 37 (“On the rare occasion when another driver was not available, Mr. Tomlin drove a route outside the State of Georgia.”)

The method by which JCS transported trailers depended on the point of origin and destination. (Defs.’ SMF ¶ 18; PL’s Resp. SMF ¶ 18.) Generally, when a trailer is transported between Atlanta, Georgia and a destination that has a freight terminal or is located more than 600 miles from the JCS facility in Conley, Georgia, JCS will ship the trailer via freight lines.5 (Scott Aff. ¶ 10; Scott Dep. at 21-26; Defs.’ SMF ¶ 19.) When JCS sells a trailer to a specific customer located either [1334]*1334near a freight line where multiple trailer shipments are being made or more than 600 miles from the JCS facility, JCS uses a freight liner to ship the trailer to that customer. (See Scott Aff. ¶ 12; Scott Dep. at 22, 24-28.) JCS uses a tractor to transport the trailer to an in-state freight terminal, and the freight line then delivers the trailer either to a freight yard near the customer or directly to the customer.6 (Scott Aff. ¶ 11; Scott Dep. 22, 25-28; Defs.’ SMF ¶ 20.) JCS received a discount in the shipping charges of its trailers if it permitted the freight company to ship the trailers loaded with goods of a third-party for delivery to a freight terminal located in the same city/state as a JCS customer. (Scott Dep. at 24, 26-29) (The freight company gets to use our trailer free of charge and they deliver it where we want it and ... we [only] have to pay them a minimal fee just to keep up with the paperwork.”). JCS drivers, including Mr. Tomlin, would deliver empty trailers to the freight terminal, where the goods are loaded by the freight company. (Id. at 26-30.) Once the trailer arrives at its destination, the goods are removed before the trailer is delivered to or retrieved by JCS’s customer. (Id. at 27-8.) JCS maintains responsibility for damage to or destruction of the trailers en route. (Id. at 31.)

Generally, when a trailer is being transported to or from a location that is not near a freight terminal but is within a four or five hour driving radius from JCS, one of JCS’s drivers will drive the trailer between the two locations. (Scott Aff. ¶ 15; Defs.’ SMF ¶ 24). For instance, when JCS delivers a trailer directly to the customer located within the four to five hour driving radius from JCS, that delivery requires that the driver cross state lines if the customer is located in a state other than Georgia.7 (Scott Aff. ¶ 17; Defs.’ SMF ¶ 24.)

II. Standard of Review on Summary Judgment

The Court may grant summary judgment when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56. The substantive law applicable to the case determines which facts are material. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A factual issue is genuine if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict in favor of the non-moving party. Id. An issue is material only if its resolution could affect the outcome of the action. Id.

“The district court should resolve all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the non-movant, and draw all justifiable inferences in his favor.” United States v. Four Parcels of Real Prop., 941 F.2d 1428, 1437 (11th Cir.1991) (citations and punctuation omitted). The court may not weigh conflicting evidence or make credibility determinations. Hairston v. Gainesville Sun Publ’g. Co., 9 F.3d 913, 919 (11th Cir.1993), reh’g denied, 16 F.3d 1233 (1994) (en banc).

[1335]*1335For issues upon which the moving party bears the burden of proof at trial8, the moving party must affirmatively demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact as to each element of its claim on that legal issue.

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Bluebook (online)
13 F. Supp. 3d 1330, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50197, 2014 WL 1396433, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tomlin-v-jcs-enterprises-inc-gand-2014.