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Northern District of New York Denies Class Certification and Decertifies Collective, Confirming Common Answers Not Common Questions Are Required

By Nicole Eichberger & Samantha Shear on May 3, 2019
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On April 26, 2019, the Northern District of New York held that a group of Plaintiffs failed to satisfy their burden to establish commonality and predominance under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 and failed to sustain their burden that they were similarly situated to continue as a FLSA collective with respect to their misclassification claims under state and federal law. Jan P. Holick Jr., et al. v. Cellular Sales of New York, LLC, Case No. 1:12 CV-584 (NAM/DJS), 2019 WL 1877176 (N.D.N.Y. Apr. 26, 2019). The Court determined that individualized issues predominated the resolution of the question as to whether a group of merchants, who contracted with Cellular Sales of New York to sell cellular service plans, devices, and accessories through various corporate entities, were independent contractors under New York law and the FLSA.

In 2010 and 2011, Cellular Sales of New York (CSNY), an authorized dealer that markets and sells cellular phone products and services in New York State, contracted with more than three hundred corporate entities, owned by many of the Named and Opt-in Plaintiffs, to sell cell phone service plans, devices, and accessories. These corporate entities and individuals who performed services for those entities were classified as independent contractors. CSNY paid commissions to those corporate entities for products and services sold under the contracts. Plaintiffs’ claimed that they were incorrectly classified as independent contractors. In order to determine whether the merchants had indeed been misclassified, discovery was conducted into the degree of control, if any, CSNY exercised over the Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs gave varying accounts of their ability to set their own work schedules, ability to work outside the retail stores, tax classifications, investment in equipment, supplies, and advertising, and use and hiring of other individuals.

In resolving Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and CSNY’s motion to decertify the collective, the Court held that Plaintiffs could not satisfy the commonality requirement of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure because the amount of control CSNY exerted over each Plaintiff was highly individualized. Although the Court noted that Plaintiffs’ failure to satisfy Rule 23(a)’s commonality requirement was lethal to Plaintiffs’ motion, the Court also held that Plaintiffs’ individualized proof failed to satisfy Rule 23(b)’s predominance requirement. The Court then turned to whether Plaintiffs could sustain their FLSA collective action, determining that in light of the highly individualized, plaintiff-specific analysis required to adjudicate each claim, Plaintiffs and the collective were not similarly situated. The Court rejected Plaintiffs’ arguments that a common scheme of uniform classification under the Sales Agreements was enough to satisfy the FLSA’s similarly situated standard. The Court stated: “[B]lanket classification decisions and uniform corporate policies do not on their own render plaintiffs similarly situated.”

The Court’s ruling underscores the necessity of class discovery, even following an initial collective certification under FLSA §216(b). It is plaintiffs’ burden to show that class and collective certification are warranted. As the Supreme Court stated in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338 (2011): “[t]he class action is an exception to the usual rule that litigation is conducted by and on behalf of the individual named parties.”

Photo of Nicole Eichberger Nicole Eichberger

Nicole A. Eichberger is a partner in the Labor and Employment Law Department and a member of the Class & Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups. Nici is an experienced trial lawyer and represents clients in all types of employment-related matters, from…

Nicole A. Eichberger is a partner in the Labor and Employment Law Department and a member of the Class & Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups. Nici is an experienced trial lawyer and represents clients in all types of employment-related matters, from single-plaintiff and complex employment to large, complex class and collective actions alleging discrimination, non-compete violations, and wage and hour disputes.

Nici has significant experience assisting clients in the defense of numerous class and collective actions. She frequently counsels employers, fiduciaries, and trustees on employment, wage-and-hour and benefit issues.

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Photo of Samantha Shear Samantha Shear

Samantha Shear is an associate in the New Orleans office and a member of the Labor and Employment Department. Samantha graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School where she spent two years as a member of the Judge John R. Brown moot court…

Samantha Shear is an associate in the New Orleans office and a member of the Labor and Employment Department. Samantha graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School where she spent two years as a member of the Judge John R. Brown moot court team. She served as coach of the moot court team one year, leading her team to win multiple awards for excellence in oral advocacy.

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  • Posted in:
    Class Action & Mass Torts
  • Blog:
    Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions
  • Organization:
    Proskauer Rose LLP
  • Article: View Original Source

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