Opinion
CASE NO. 09-23766-CIV-UNGARO/SIMONTON.
June 11, 2009
CONSENT CASE
ORDER GRANTING THE JOINT MOTION TO STAY THE CASE PENDING THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT DECISION
This matter is before the Court upon the Joint Motion to Stay Case Pending the Eleventh Circuit Decision (DE # 20). For the reasons stated below, the Joint Motion to Stay is granted.
Plaintiff Jesus Velarde Ureta filed this lawsuit requesting relief pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201, et seq. According to his Complaint, Plaintiff worked for Defendant, Sharp Deal Automobiles, Corp., without being paid overtime wages for the hours that he worked in excess of forty hours per week (DE # 1 at 3, ¶ 9). The Complaint alleges, inter alia, that Defendants' business and Plaintiff's work for Defendant Sharp Deal affected interstate commerce and, thus, subject Defendants' business activities to the FLSA (DE # 1 at 2, ¶¶ 5, 6).
The parties have jointly filed the instant motion seeking to have this matter stayed because the case of Reinaldo Ramon Lamonica, Renaldo Gomez Morsa, et al., v. Safe Hurricane Shutters, Inc., Appellate Case No. 08-15963-X, ("Lamonica") which involves similar dispositive legal issues related to application of the FLSA, is currently pending before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In the Lamonica case, the district court granted summary judgment for the defendant and concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Safe Hurricane Shutters, Inc., was engaged in interstate commerce to establish enterprise liability under the FLSA. The Lamonica Plaintiffs then appealed that decision to the Eleventh Circuit.
The undersigned concludes that the Eleventh Circuit may provide valuable guidance regarding this issue, and, a ruling by the Eleventh Circuit in the Lamonica case may well affect and determine the issues presently before the Court in this action. Accordingly, in an effort to preserve judicial resources and to avoid inconsistent results, it is appropriate to stay this matter until the Lamonica case is resolved.
In addition, on May 11, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an Order granting a motion to consolidate the appeal in Lamonica with the appeals in Reisas Polycarpe v. E S Landscaping Service, App. Case No. 08-15154-EE and 08-15290-EE, Richard Milbourn v. Aarmada Protection Systems 2000, Inc., App. Case No. 08-17055-FF, Edgardo Flores, Jose Roasles, Nestor Benitez v. Nuvoc, Inc, App. Case No. 08-17109-FF, and Juan Carlos Vallecillo v. Wall to Wall Residence Repairs, Inc., App. Case No. 09-10938-FF. All of those cases also involve issues related to the application of the FLSA to certain businesses. In October, 2009, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument on the consolidated appeals.
Thus, the interests of judicial economy will be served if the instant action is stayed pending disposition by the Eleventh Circuit of the consolidated cases identified in that Court's May 11, 2009 Order, including the Lamonica case.
Therefore, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Joint Motion to Stay Case Pending the Eleventh Circuit Decision (DE # 20), is GRANTED to the extent that it seeks to stay this matter until the Eleventh Circuit rules on the consolidated cases, including Lamonica v. Safe Hurricane Shutters, Inc. Therefore, this case is CLOSED for statistical purposes only, is removed from the trial calendar, and all pending motions are DENIED as moot. This Order shall not prejudice the rights of the parties to this litigation. The Court retains jurisdiction, and the case shall be restored to the active docket upon Court Order following motion of a party, made within 90 days from the entry of the mandate in the consolidated cases, including Lamonica. If no timely Motion to Reactivate is filed, this case may be dismissed without prejudice by the Court, without further notice.
DONE AND ORDERED in chambers in Miami, Florida.