Xavier v. Belfor Group USA, Inc.

254 F.R.D. 281, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94669, 2008 WL 4899192
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMarch 31, 2008
DocketCivil Action Nos. 06-491, 06-7804
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 254 F.R.D. 281 (Xavier v. Belfor Group USA, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Xavier v. Belfor Group USA, Inc., 254 F.R.D. 281, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94669, 2008 WL 4899192 (E.D. La. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

G. THOMAS PORTEOUS, JR., District Judge.

Before the Court are Defendant’s two Motion to Dismiss in consolidated action 06-7804. Rec. Doc. 113, 114. Plaintiffs filed Oppositions to the Motions. 125,126. The Motions came for hearing with oral argument on January 16, 2008, and were taken under submission. The Court, after considering the memoranda and arguments of the parties, the record, the law, and applicable jurisprudence is fully advised in the premises and ready to rule.

I. BACKGROUND

Belfor USA Group, Inc. (hereinafter, “Bel-for”) is a restoration and reconstruction company that specializes in emergency response. It has performed restoration on such large scale projects as Ground Zero and restora[285]*285tion along the gulf coast after Hurricane Katrina. These consolidated actions arise out of Belfor’s projects after the 2005 Hurricane season. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Belfor was retained to perform its services in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Belfor undertook some 500 projects and utilized hundreds of subcontractors.1

In February 2006, the Xavier matter (Civil Action 06-491) was filed alleging that workers on the Belfor job sites post-hurricanes Katrina and Rita were not paid overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Belfor investigated the allegations, learned that the workers were not paid, and therefore, in accordance with its Master Service Agreement, withheld moneys payable to the subcontractors. Judge Zainey certified for settlement purposes the Xavier case as a collective action. The parties are currently trying to work out the settlement and Belfor will pay the workers out of the sums withheld.

In October 2006, the action subject to this Motion to Dismiss (Civil Action 06-7804) was filed as an FLSA collective action by workers on Belfor job sites along the gulf coast and in New Orleans post-Katrina who were allegedly not paid overtime in violation of the FLSA. The Motion to Collectively Certify this action is pending before the Court and has been continued pending resolution of this Motion. The action names Belfor and its subcontractor Ticos Construction claiming that at all times Belfor and Ticos were plaintiffs “joint employers” and therefore, liable to the plaintiffs under the FLSA.

The Xavier Action (06^491) and the Oban-do Action (06-7804) have been consolidated.

Presumably because the Obando Action as originally filed was duplicative of the Xavier action (i.e. both sought recovery for the same group of plaintiffs for the same overtime work in areas around the gulf coast after Hurricane Katrina) the original two Obando Plaintiffs, Orestes Obando and Adan Gonzalez, amended the Complaint, after leave of court was granted, expanding the FLSA collective action to all persons similarly situated “nationwide” throughout the United States who performed manual labor on Belfor projects in decontamination, drying, cleaning, odor neutralization, and reconstruction at any time within the three (3) years prior to the filing of the initial complaint and who did not receive overtime compensation. Rec. Doc. 87 at p. 2. In addition, the amended complaint added Louisiana state law causes of action for violations of Louisiana labor and wage law on behalf of the two original Oban-do plaintiffs and requested class certification for all those similarly situated as to these claims. The Amended Complaint also added four (4) new plaintiffs claiming each was denied overtime payments by Belfor in their respective states amounting to a violation of the FLSA. Additionally, the amended complaint alleges violations of the respective states labor and wage laws on behalf of each individual and seeks class certification of all those claims. See Rec. Doc. 87.2

The Complaint was amended a third time, with consent of Defendant, and added claims under Pennsylvania’s wage and labor laws by formerly named Plaintiffs, Vanda Lima and Sergio Alho individually and seeking class action status. The third Amended Complaint also brings new cause of action by two (2) new plaintiffs for violations of Ohio’s wage and labor laws individually and seeking class action certification. Rec. Doc. 104 at p. 3. Of course, each Plaintiff alleges violations of the FLSA and seeks that a collective nationwide class action be certified.

Total, the amended complaint alleges ten (10) state law class action claims concerning various employment practices in the respec[286]*286tive states in addition to the collective action claim.3 The Third Amended Complaint is the subject of the instant Motions to Dismiss. In sum, Belfor seeks to dismiss the class action causes of action and the FLSA violations for failure to state a claim pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6). Rec. Doc. 113. If the Court finds that claims are stated, the second Motion requests dismissal on the merits of the claims.

II. LAW AND ANALYSIS

Dismissal pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) “is viewed with disfavor and is rarely granted.” Lowrey v. Texas A & M University System, 117 F.3d 242, 247 (5th Cir.1997); Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Sales v. Avondale Shipyards, 677 F.2d 1045, 1050(5th Cir.1982). The complaint must be liberally construed in favor of the plaintiff, and all facts pleaded in the original complaint must be taken as true. Oliver v. Scott, 276 F.3d 736, 740 (5th Cir. 2002); Campbell v. Wells Fargo Bank, 781 F.2d 440, 442 (5th Cir.1986). The Fifth Circuit has pointed out the proper inquiry on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is “whether in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and with every doubt resolved in his behalf, the complaint states any valid claim for relief.” Lowrey, 117 F.3d at 247, citing 5 Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 1357, at 601 (1969). “[A] plaintiffs obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions.’ ” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964-65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, “due to the threshold requirement of Rule 8(a)(2) that the ‘plain statement’ possess enough heft to

‘show that the pleader is entitled to relief.’ ” ” Id. at 1965, 1966. As the Fifth Circuit has held, “the complaint must contain either direct allegations on every material point necessary to sustain a recovery or contain allegations from which an inference fairly may be drawn that evidence on these material points will be introduced at trial.” Rios v. City of Del Rio, 444 F.3d 417, 420-21 (5th Cir .2006).

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254 F.R.D. 281, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94669, 2008 WL 4899192, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/xavier-v-belfor-group-usa-inc-laed-2008.