Goers et al v. L.A. Entertainment Group, Inc. et al

Filing 95

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE. Defendants L.A. Entertainment Group, Inc. and Amer Salameh shall SHOW CAUSE, in writing, on or before December 30, 2016, as to why their Counterclaim should not be dismissed for lack of ripeness. Failure to comply with this Order may result in their Counterclaim being dismissed without further notice. Signed by Judge Sheri Polster Chappell on 12/22/2016. (LMF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
TAMERA GOERS and ASHLEY
CRISTINE MULLIGAN, individually, and
on behalf of all others similarly situated
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No: 2:15-cv-412-FtM-99CM

L.A. ENTERTAINMENT GROUP,
INC. and AMER SALAMEH,
Defendants.
/
ORDER1
This matter comes before the Court on sua sponte review of the Defendants’
Answer, Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaim (Doc. #25).

Paragraph 10 of

Defendants’ Counterclaim for unjust enrichment states “[i]f Counterclaim Defendants are
successful in their claims that they were employees, they will be unjustly enriched . . . . ”
This is problematic because “[a] claim is not ripe for adjudication if it rests upon contingent
future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all.” Texas v.
United States, 523 U.S. 296, 300 (1998). Thus, Defendants Counterclaim is not ripe if it
is contingent on a future event, such as a loss to Plaintiffs on their Fair Labor Standards
Act collective action claim.

1

Notably, “[r]ipeness is a question of subject-matter

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jurisdiction.” Reahard v. Lee County, 978 F.2d 1212, 1213 (11th Cir. 1992). Moreover,
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(h)(3) states that “[i]f the court determines at any time
that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.” Consequently,
the Court will allow Defendants until December 30, 2016, to establish the ripeness of their
Counterclaim, and thus, the Court’s jurisdiction.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
Defendants L.A. Entertainment Group, Inc. and Amer Salameh shall SHOW
CAUSE, in writing, on or before December 30, 2016, as to why their Counterclaim should
not be dismissed for lack of ripeness. Failure to comply with this Order may result in their
Counterclaim being dismissed without further notice.
DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida, this 22nd day of December, 2016.

Copies: All Parties of Record