ITTERLY v. FAMILY DOLLAR STORES, INC. et al

Filing 14

REMAND ORDER FROM JUDICIAL PANEL ON MDL remanding action 3:08cv1936 Albert Itterly v. Family Dollar to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (PA-E#5-08-1266). ***Counsel are instructed to file stipulation / designation of contents of the Master Docket record or part thereof to be remanded within ten (10) days of entry of this order.*** Associated Cases: 3:08-md-01932-GCM, 3:08-cv-01936-GCM(bsw)

Case MDL No. 1932 Document 125 Filed 02/08/12 Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES JUDICIAL PANEL
on
MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION

IN RE: FAMILY DOLLAR STORES, INC., WAGE
AND HOUR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LITIGATION
Albert Itterly v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc., et al.,
)
W.D. North Carolina, C.A. No. 3:08-1936
)
(formerly E.D. Pennsylvania, C.A. No. 5:08-1266) )

MDL No. 1932

REMAND ORDER

Before the Panel:* Pursuant to Panel Rule 10.2, defendants Family Dollar Stores of
Pennsylvania, Inc., and Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (collectively Family Dollar) move to vacate our
order that conditionally remanded an action (Itterly) to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, its
transferor court. Plaintiff in the Itterly opposes the motion.
The Panel placed this action on a conditional remand order after receiving a letter from the
transferee judge questioning “whether it is appropriate for this Court to continue presiding over this
case.” In order to present the parties’ arguments before the Panel, as requested by the transferee
judge, this letter was treated as a suggestion of remand.
Itterly was transferred to W.D. North Carolina by unopposed conditional transfer order in
May 2008. Itterly is a former store manager who, on behalf of himself and a putative Pennsylvania
class, contends he was misclassified as exempt from overtime requirements of the Pennsylvania
Minimum Wage Act, 43 Penn. Stat. §§ 333.101, et seq. In September 2011, Itterly withdrew all his
Fair Labor Standards Act claims, leaving only his individual and class claims under Pennsylvania law.
After considering all argument of counsel, the Panel finds that remand of Itterly is appropriate
and consistent with our previous practice in this MDL. The Panel has previously remanded
transferred actions that contained only state law claims to their respective transferor courts.1
Similarly, the Panel has denied transfer of an action containing only state law claims. See Order
Denying Transfer of Barker, et al. v. Family Dollar, Inc.,W.D. Kentucky, C.A. No. 3:10-170, Doc.
*

1

Judge W. Royal Furgeson, Jr., did not participate in the decision of this matter.

See Order of Remand in two New York actions (Rancharan/Youngblood), Doc. 74
(J.P.M.L. August 17, 2010) (“In the matter now before us, the transferee judge determined, after
close scrutiny, that actions which do not bring claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act are not
appropriate for inclusion in this MDL. [A] transferee judge is always free to suggest early remand
of state law claims, especially where he believes that such claims would be more appropriately
resolved by the transferor courts. We adopt his assessment.”).

Case MDL No. 1932 Document 125 Filed 02/08/12 Page 2 of 2

-275 (J.P.M.L. August 17, 2010). As we held in Barker, “While some MDL No. 1932 actions involve
claims under both the FLSA and various state wage and hour statutes, the transferee judge ... has
determined that actions which involve only state law claims would not benefit from inclusion in this
MDL. [] Just as an MDL may sometimes expand to include claims which were not initially
anticipated, an MDL can also become limited in order to promote the just and efficient conduct of
the litigation.” Here, Itterly previously contained FLSA claims, but plaintiff has since abandoned such
claims. Thus, Itterly now consists solely of state law claims and, consistent with our past practice
in this docket, should be remanded to its transferee court.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, this action is remanded
to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION

_________________________________________
John G. Heyburn II
Chairman
Kathryn H. Vratil
Paul J. Barbadoro
Charles R. Breyer

Barbara S. Jones
Marjorie O. Rendell