Galvez v. Anheuser-Busch, LLC

Filing 23

ORDER signed by Senior Judge William B. Shubb on 9/19/2017 GRANTING 8 Defendant's Motion to Dismiss. The court does not reach defendant's alternative motions to compel arbitration or to stay these proceedings. Plaintiff is given 20 days from the date of this order to file an amended complaint consistent with this order. (Kirksey Smith, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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AZUL GALVEZ, as an individual
and on behalf of all others
similarly situated,

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Plaintiff,

CIV. No.

2-17-00621 WBS DB

ORDER

v.
ANHEUSER-BUSCH, LLC, a
Missouri Limited Liability
Company; and DOES 1-10,
Defendant.

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----oo0oo---Plaintiff Azul Galvez brought this collective action on

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behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, against

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defendant Anheuser-Busch for recovery of unpaid overtime wages

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under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

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Defendant now moves to compel arbitration of plaintiff’s

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individual claims, for dismissal of collective claims, or, in the

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alternative, for immediate stay of judicial proceedings as to

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plaintiff’s individual claims or to dismiss for failure to state

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a claim for which relief can be granted.
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(Compl. ¶¶ 12-14.)

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On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim

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under Rule 12(b)(6), the court must accept the allegations in the

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pleadings as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of

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the plaintiff.

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overruled on other grounds by Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183

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(1984); Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322 (1972).

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motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must plead “only enough facts to

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state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.”

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Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007).

See Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974),

To survive a

Bell

While a

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complaint “does not need detailed allegations” a plaintiff must

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provide “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic

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recitation of a cause of action’s elements” will not suffice.

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Id. at 545.

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To assert a plausible claim under the FLSA, plaintiffs

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must assert “at a minimum . . . that []he worked more than forty

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hours in a given workweek without being compensated for the hours

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worked in excess of forty during that week.”

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Communs., Inc., 771 F.3d 638, 645 (9th Cir. 2015)(citations

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omitted).

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overtime wages may “estimat[e] the length of [his] average

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workweek during the applicable period and the average rate at

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which []he was paid, the amount of overtime wages []he believes

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[]he is owed, or any other facts that will permit the court to

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find plausibility.”

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Landers v. Quality

To survive a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff seeking

Id.

Plaintiff’s allegation that defendants’ unlawful

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policies and practices resulted in “depriving him of all required

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overtime wages earned in excess of 40 hours per workweek under

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the FLSA” is conclusory.

(Compl. ¶ 12).
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While plaintiff does

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not have to allege “’with mathematical precision’ the amount of

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overtime compensation owed by the employer,” plaintiff does not

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provide a given workweek where he was not compensated overtime

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wages as required under Landers.

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(citation omitted).

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information regarding the amount of time he worked, the dates he

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worked, or the type of work he was asked or required to perform.

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Without more, the court cannot determine that the complaint is

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not merely possible but plausible.

See Landers, 771 F.3d at 646

Plaintiff does not provide any specific

See id.

(“Although these

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allegations ‘raise the possibility’ of undercompensation in

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violation of the FLSA, a possibility is not the same as

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plausibility.”).

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The motion to dismiss the Complaint must therefore be

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granted.

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motions to compel arbitration or to stay these proceedings.

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Plaintiff requests leave to amend to address any defects in the

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Complaint.

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will be futile, will prejudice them, or will cause undue delay.

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Plaintiff will therefore be given leave to amend the Complaint.

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The court does not reach defendant’s alternative

Defendants do not argue that granting leave to amend

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that defendant’s motion to

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dismiss be, and the same hereby, is GRANTED.

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20 days from the date of this order to file an amended complaint

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consistent with this order.

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Dated:

September 19, 2017

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Plaintiff is given