Vengurlekar v. Silverline Technologies, Ltd.

220 F.R.D. 222, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21318, 2003 WL 22801757
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 24, 2003
DocketNo. 02 Civ. 7724(SAS)
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 220 F.R.D. 222 (Vengurlekar v. Silverline Technologies, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vengurlekar v. Silverline Technologies, Ltd., 220 F.R.D. 222, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21318, 2003 WL 22801757 (S.D.N.Y. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Gajanan Vengurlekar and Umesh Pachpande bring this class action alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq. (“ERISA”), the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq. (“FLSA”), and the New Jersey Wage Payment Law, N.J.S.A. § 34:11 — 4.2 (“NJWPL”). Plaintiffs have also asserted state common law claims for breach of contract, quantum meruit, and unjust enrichment. Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated

who were and/or are employed by Silver-line Technologies, Inc. and/or SeraNova, Inc. from January 1, 2001 through the present (the “Class Period”) who were not paid wages, salaries and other compensation and/or whose withheld taxes were not remitted to the appropriate authorities and/or whose pension plan contributions (either employer contributions or employee contributions) were not deposited in the pension plan accounts of the plaintiffs and the proposed class.

Plaintiffs Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Class Certification (“Pl.Mem.”) at 1. See also Amended and Supplemental Class Action Complaint (“Cmplt.”), Ex. A to the Affidavit of Lee Squitieri (“Squitieri Aff.”), plaintiffs’ attorney, U1.

Plaintiffs ask this Court to certify a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) with regard to their ERISA and state statutory wage claims. Alternatively, plaintiffs seek certification of all their claims under Rule 23(b)(3). For the following reasons, plaintiffs’ requests for class certification are denied in their entirety.

I. BACKGROUND

Vengurlekar and Pachpande were employees of SeraNova, Inc. during the Class Period. See Cmplt. UU4 & 5. Both allege that defendants failed to: compensate them, remit withholding taxes to the appropriate authorities,1 and credit their pension accounts.2 See id. Plaintiffs were employed in the state of North Carolina as computer professionals.3 See Declaration of Sharmila Sherika (“Sheri-ka Deel.”), Human Resources Manager for Silverline Technologies, Inc., UU 3, 5 & 7. Vengurlekar was a Project Manager and Pachpande was a Senior Consultant, exempt positions that did not entitle them to overtime compensation. See id. UU 4 & 6.

Defendant SeraNova, Inc. (“SeraNova”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of defendant Sil-verline Technologies, Inc. (“Silverline USA”). [226]*226See Cmplt. f 7. Both SeraNova and Silverline USA are Delaware corporations headquartered in New Jersey. See id. 11117 & 8. Silverline USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Silverline Technologies, Ltd. (“Silverline Limited”), the parent company which is also headquartered in New Jersey. See id. 119. Plaintiffs allege that Silverline Limited is the alter ego of both SeraNova and Silverline USA and that all of the corporate defendants constitute a single employer. See id. H13. The individual defendants are alleged to be current or former officers of Silverline USA.4 See id. HIT 10-12. In August of 2003, SeraNo-va and Silverline USA filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. See 9/9/3 Letter from Neñ A. Capobianco.

II. STANDARD FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets forth the requirements for bringing and maintaining a class action in federal court. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 23. “ Tn determining the propriety of a class action, the question is not whether the plaintiff or plaintiffs have stated a cause of action or will prevail on the merits, but rather whether the requirements of Rule 23 are met.’ ” In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litig., 280 F.3d 124, 133 (2d Cir.2001), cert. denied, 536 U.S. 917, 122 S.Ct. 2382, 153 L.Ed.2d 201 (2002) (quoting Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 178, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974)). While this Circuit has “directed district courts to apply Rule 23 according to a liberal rather than a restrictive interpretation,” In re NASDAQ Market-Makers Antitrust Litig., 169 F.R.D. 493, 504 (S.D.N.Y.1996) (citing Korn v. Franchard Corp., 456 F.2d 1206, 1208-09 (2d Cir.1972)), a court may not grant certification unless it is satisfied, after “‘rigorous analysis,’” that the criteria set forth in Rule 23 are met. See Dodge v. County of Orange, 208 F.R.D. 79, 87 (S.D.N.Y.2002) (quoting General Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 161, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982)). Plaintiffs bear the burden of establishing each requirement for class certification. See Pecere v. Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 194 F.R.D. 66, 69 (E.D.N.Y.2000).

The district court must accept all of the allegations in the pleadings as true on a motion for class certification, and avoid conducting a preliminary inquiry into the merits. See In re Indep. Energy Holdings PLC Sec. Litig., 210 F.R.D. 476, 478 (S.D.N.Y.2002). Nonetheless, the decision whether to certify a class “ ‘may involve some considerations related to the factual and legal issues that comprise the plaintiffs cause of action.’” Pecere, 194 F.R.D. at 69 (quoting D'Alauro v. GC Servs. Ltd., 168 F.R.D. 451, 454 (E.D.N.Y.1996)). See also Daniels v. City of New York, 198 F.R.D. 409, 413 n. 5 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) (noting that the court need not rely on the bare allegations but “may consider the range of proof necessary to support class certification”). “[Affirmative defenses should [also] be considered in making class certification decisions.” Waste Mgmt. Holdings, Inc. v. Mowbray, 208 F.3d 288, 295 (1st Cir.2000). See also Castano v. American Tobacco Co., 84 F.3d 734, 744 (5th Cir.1996) (explaining that “a court must understand the claims, defenses, relevant facts, and applicable substantive law in order to make a meaningful determination of the certification issues”).

III. REQUIREMENTS FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

To be certified as a class under Rule 23

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Bluebook (online)
220 F.R.D. 222, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21318, 2003 WL 22801757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vengurlekar-v-silverline-technologies-ltd-nysd-2003.