Donatti, et al v. Charter Communications, LLC, et al

Filing 103

ORDER finding as moot 90 motion for entry of judgment; granting 98 motion for leave to amend. Signed on 9/23/2013 by Magistrate Judge Matt J. Whitworth. (Bode, Kay)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
CENTRAL DIVISION

PETER DONATTI, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS,
L.L.C., et al.,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

No. 11-4166-CV-C-MJW

ORDER
On August 12, 2013, Plaintiffs Peter Donatti and Matthew Cowan filed a motion for
leave to amend. Defendants Charter Communications, LLC, and Charter Communications, Inc.,
(Charter) have filed suggestions in opposition and Plaintiffs reply suggestions in support.
ALeave to amend should be granted absent a good reason for denial, such as undue delay,
bad faith, undue prejudice to the nonmoving party, or futility.@ Fuller v. Secretary of Defense, 30
F.3d 86, 88 (8th Cir. 1994). AThe court should freely give leave when justice so requires.@ Fed.
R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2).
Upon review of Plaintiffs’ proposed Second Amended Complaint, and the filings of the
parties, this Court finds that justice requires leave to amend be granted. The Court finds no good
reason to deny the amendment at this time.
The parties agreed at the onset of this case to resolve only two threshold issues before
proceeding further. Those threshold issues were resolved by this Court in two summary
judgment orders, and resulted in the instant motion seeking leave to amend on nonthreshold
issues which are now ripe for adjudication. These actions do not constitute undue delay or
prejudice.
Furthermore, Plaintiffs’ proposed Second Amended Complaint does not appear to be
futile at this point in the proceedings, and Plaintiffs’ actions do not indicate bad faith. Plaintiffs’
Second Amended Complaint appears compliant with this Court’s Order of July 22, 2013,

directing Plaintiffs to file a second amended complaint which does not contain allegations
already addressed in this Court’s prior summary judgment rulings.
In response to Defendants’ objections, the Court notes that granting leave to amend does
not reflect a finding by this Court that Plaintiffs’ claims have merit under the FLSA or otherwise.
This Court affirms the holding of the summary judgment orders previously entered, including the
holding that the pre- and post-commute and pre- and post-shift activities of Charter technicians
and their required transporting of equipment, as outlined in Charter’s policies, do not violate the
FLSA. Plaintiffs’ assertion in their proposed Second Amended Complaint that required cashdrops at the main office by technicians off-the-clock (in violation of Charter’s policies) is an
intervening fact that changes this determination is simply an allegation. This allegation and the
related allegations of Plaintiffs meet the Twombly/Iqbal standard. See Bell Atl. Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Whether these
allegations can be supported must be determined as this case proceeds. As with any allegation,
Plaintiffs’ allegations must be proved with evidence and supported by the law. To the extent that
any of the allegations contained in Plaintiffs’ proposed Second Amended Complaint have
potentially been resolved by previous summary judgment orders, the law of the case applies, and
these allegations and arguments will be foreclosed.
Because leave to amend is granted, Defendants’ motion for judgment has become moot,
and will be denied, without prejudice.
For the foregoing reasons,
IT IS, HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs Peter Donatti and Matthew Cowan are
granted leave to file their Second Amended Complaint. [98] It is further
ORDERED that the April 12, 2013 motion of Defendants Charter Communications, LLC,
and Charter Communications, Inc., for entry of judgment is denied, without prejudice, as moot.
[90] It is further
ORDRED that within fourteen days, the parties provide the Court with an agreed
scheduling order. This scheduling order should provide for a proposed trial date no later than
September 2014.

2

Dated this 23rd day of September, 2013, at Jefferson City, Missouri.

/s/

Matt J. Whitworth

MATT J. WHITWORTH
United States Magistrate Judge

3