Reichert v. Hoover Foods, Inc.
Filing
42
OPINION AND ORDER. Defendant Hoover Foods, Inc. is not required to produce the FLSA settlement agreement entered into by the parties in Love et al. v. Hoover Foods, Inc. et al., No. 3:15-cv-1269 (M.D. Fla.). Signed by Judge William S. Duffey, Jr on 7/25/2017. (bgt)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
KEGAN REICHERT, on behalf of
himself and those similarly situated,
Plaintiff,
v.
1:16-cv-4575-WSD
HOOVER FOODS, INC., a Georgia
Corporation,
Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on a discovery dispute between Plaintiff
Kegan Reichert (“Reichert”) and Defendant Hoover Foods, Inc. (“Hoover”).
I.
BACKGROUND
On December 13, 2016, Reichert filed his Complaint [1] “on behalf of
himself and all other similarly situated assistant managers who worked for
Defendant at their Wendy’s locations throughout the Southeastern United States.”
(Compl. ¶ 1). Reichert asserts claims for overtime compensation under the Fair
Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and seeks liquidated damages and attorney’s fees.
Reichert, during discovery, sought production of a settlement agreement
between four companies, including Hoover, and two FLSA plaintiffs in a case
styled Love et al. v. Hoover Foods, Inc. et al., No. 3:15-cv-1269 (M.D. Fla.)
(“Love”). Hoover refused to produce the settlement agreement on grounds that it
is not relevant to this action. On July 20, 2017, the Court held a teleconference
with the parties to discuss their discovery dispute. Hoover, at the Court’s request,
submitted the settlement agreement to the Court for its in camera inspection.
II.
DISCUSSION
A.
Legal Standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) states the scope of permissible
discovery:
Unless otherwise limited by court order, the scope of discovery is as
follows: Parties may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged
matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and
proportional to the needs of the case, considering the importance of
the issues at stake in the action, the amount in controversy, the parties’
relative access to relevant information, the parties’ resources, the
importance of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the
burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely
benefit. Information within this scope of discovery need not be
admissible in evidence to be discoverable.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) (emphasis added). “The party seeking discovery has
the threshold burden of demonstrating that the discovery requested is
relevant.” Bldg. Materials Corp. of Am. v. Henkel Corp., No. 6:15-cv-548,
2016 WL 7734066, at *1 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 26, 2016); see Smith v. Pefanis,
No. 1:08-cv-1042, 2008 WL 11333335, at *4 (N.D. Ga. Oct. 30, 2008)
2
(“When relevancy is not apparent, the burden is on the party seeking
discovery to show the relevancy of the discovery request.”).1
B.
Analysis
Reichert seeks discovery of Hoover’s settlement agreement in Love. On
October 23, 2015, the Love plaintiffs—both assistant managers at Wendy’s—filed
a FLSA action in the Middle District of Florida, asserting minimum wage and
overtime claims against Hoover and three other defendants. Plaintiffs sought
liquidated damages for their allegedly unpaid overtime and minimum wages. On
February 3, 2017, the parties filed a stipulation of dismissal, dismissing plaintiffs’
FLSA claims without prejudice. The stipulation of dismissal stated:
[T]he Parties have stipulated and certified that Plaintiffs’ FLSA
claims have been paid in full and have not been compromised. The
Parties carefully determined the amount of alleged overtime worked
by Plaintiffs Love and Staffa and the full amount of back wages
allegedly owed to Plaintiffs Love and Staffa. The settlement entered
into amongst the Parties provides for the full and complete payment of
1
“The Eleventh Circuit has not directly addressed the issue of whether
settlement agreements are discoverable.” Virtual Studios, Inc. v. Royalty
Carpet Mills, Inc., No. 4:12-cv-0077, 2013 WL 12090122, at *4 (N.D. Ga.
Dec. 23, 2013).
3
all back wages allegedly owed to Plaintiffs Love and Staffa, as well as
liquidated damages in an amount equal to each Plaintiff’s respective
back wages.
Love, Doc. 65, at 1-2. The settlement agreement in Love was not filed on the
docket or publicly disclosed.
Reichert argues that the settlement agreement is relevant because it would
show (1) whether Hoover paid overtime compensation and liquidated damages,
(2) whether the settlement amounts were calculated on the basis of a two- or
three-year statute of limitations, and (3) whether Hoover knowingly violated FLSA
in this case. The information sought in (1) already is available from documents
publicly filed in Love. The stipulation of dismissal states that Hoover paid
plaintiffs’ FLSA claims “in full,” including their claims for overtime compensation
and liquidated damages. Love, Doc. 65, at 1-2. The information sought in (2) is
not ascertainable from the settlement agreement. The settlement agreement also
does not show whether Hoover knowingly violated FLSA in this case. The
settlement agreement provided for “full and complete payment of all back wages
allegedly owed to [the Love] Plaintiffs.” Love, Doc. 65, at 2 (emphasis added).
Hoover did not concede any liability, and represented only that plaintiffs’ claims
4
had been paid “in full,” for amounts not less than FLSA required.2 Hoover and its
co-defendants , to settle the case and avoid protracted litigation, could have paid
plaintiffs more than FLSA required. That the settlement involved three additional
defendants, who are not parties in this action, underscores that the agreement is not
“relevant to any party’s claim or defense.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1). The
settlement agreement is not required to be produced.
III.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Hoover Foods, Inc. is not
required to produce the FLSA settlement agreement entered into by the parties in
Love et al. v. Hoover Foods, Inc. et al., No. 3:15-cv-1269 (M.D. Fla.).
SO ORDERED this 25th day of July, 2017.
2
The Love settlement agreement includes a “no admission of liability”
provision.
5
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?