Gray et al v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.

Filing 331

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motions to Exclude Testimony and Report of Defendant's Expert Witness James Scapellato 117 , 205 and Expert Witness Satish Jindel. 119 ; 207 are DENIED without prejudice as moot. If FedEx can demonstrate relevance of the testimonyof Scapellato and Jindel, then the Court will reconsider Plaintiffs' motions.Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 9/27/13. (ARL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

DAVID WELLS, et al.,

)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
)
FEDEX GROUND PACKAGE
)
SYSTEM, INC.,
)
)
Defendant.
)
____________________________________)
)
)
REGINALD GRAY, et al.,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
)
FEDEX GROUND PACKAGE
)
SYSTEM, INC.,
)
)
Defendant.
)
)
____________________________________)

No. 4:10-CV-2080-JAR

No. 4:06-CV-422-JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motions to Exclude Testimony and Report of
Defendant’s Expert Witness James Scapellato [Wells ECF No. 117; Gray ECF No. 205] and Expert
Witness Satish Jindel. [Wells ECF No. 119; Gray ECF No. 207]
Plaintiffs are former contractors with Defendant FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.
(“FedEx”). Each Plaintiff executed a “Pickup and Delivery Contractor Operating Agreement”
(“OA”) with FedEx which Plaintiffs allege misclassified them as independent contractors when they
were in fact employees.

FedEx has retained James E. Scapellato1 to offer expert testimony regarding safety regulatory
requirements applicable to FedEx’s relationship with Plaintiffs (Scapellato Report, Gray Doc. No.
205-1; Wells Doc. No. 117-1), and Satish Jindel2 to offer expert testimony regarding the parcel
delivery business practice in meeting customer needs. (Jindel Report, Gray Doc. No. 207-1; Wells
Doc. No. 120-1) It is Scapellato’s opinion generally that FedEx’s safety policies, procedures and
practices are required and/or authorized and encouraged by federal safety laws and regulations and
well within the norm of industry standards, customs and practices. (Scapellato Report, pp. 30-31)
It is Jindel’s opinion generally that certain elements of the Standards of Service that Plaintiffs agree
to comply with in their OAs with FedEx, i.e., (1) timed pick-ups and deliveries, (2) signaturerequired deliveries, (3) making multiple delivery attempts, (4) tracking packages through scanners,
and (5) identifiable vehicles and drivers, are driven by customer demand, and consistent with
industry-wide practices. (Jindel Report, pp. 7-11) FedEx intends to present this expert testimony as
part of its response to Plaintiffs’ argument that FedEx wrongfully controlled its drivers.
In light of the Court’s ruling granting Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment as to
employment status, it appears that the testimony of Scapellato and Jindel is no longer relevant.
Accordingly,

1

James Scapellato, of Scapellato & Company LLC, a transportation consulting company,
has 28 years of experience working for the U.S. Department of Transportation, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA). (Scapellato Report at 5) Mr. Scapellato has worked for numerous motor carriers in
regulatory and safety capacities, and has been qualified as an expert in regulatory compliance
and enforcement of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations in both state and federal court.
2

Satish Jindel, President of SJ Consulting Group, Inc. Mr. Jindel has 28 years of
experience working in the transportation and logistics industry. Jindel Report at 3. Mr. Jindel
developed the widely-used ShipMatrix technology, and has worked with many major logistics
providers.
2

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motions to Exclude Testimony and Report of
Defendant’s Expert Witness James Scapellato [117, 205] and Expert Witness Satish Jindel. [119;
207] are DENIED without prejudice as moot. If FedEx can demonstrate relevance of the testimony
of Scapellato and Jindel, then the Court will reconsider Plaintiffs’ motions.

Dated this 27th day of September, 2013.

JOHN A. ROSS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

3