Griffith, et al. v. Menard, Inc.

Filing 74

ORDER granting 73 Motion to Change Venue. This case is hereby TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1404(a). Signed by Judge Algenon L. Marbley on 910/2018. (cw)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
DEBRA GRIFFITH, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
MENARD, INC.,
Defendant.

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Case No. 2:18-cv-0081
JUDGE ALGENON L. MARBLEY
Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura

ORDER
This matter is before the Court on the Parties’ Joint Motion to Transfer Under 28 U.S.C. §
1404 and Stipulation of the Parties Related to Conditional Certification. (ECF No. 73). The parties
seek: (1) the transfer of this action to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio,
Western Division; and (2) an order approving the stipulations of the parties relative to
conditionally certifying a collective action and dismissing certain plaintiffs’ claims without
prejudice. The Joint Motion is hereby GRANTED. In the interests of judicial economy and for
the efficiency of the parties, the Court ORDERS as follows:
1.

Any claims for unpaid breaks pending in this action are hereby DISMISSED

WITHOUT PREJUDICE; any opt-in plaintiffs in this action who have claims for unpaid breaks
and are subject to the class in Christian Raisor, et al. v. Menard, Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-00314,
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Western Division may join the already
conditionally-certified class in Raisor as directed by that Court without prejudice to their original
opt-in date in Griffith for statute of limitations purposes.
2.

The Court APPROVES the conditional class of plaintiffs in Griffith, which the

parties have agreed to, consisting of:

All present and former hourly employees who worked or are working at Menards retail
home improvement stores and/or distribution centers throughout the United States from
January 31, 2015 to the present, participated in in-home training without compensation,
who worked 40 or more hours per workweek including any time spent in in-home training,
and whose employment agreement does not contain a class or collective action waiver.
3.

Any plaintiffs in Griffith who are subject to an arbitration agreement with Menard

that contains a class/collective action waiver are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The
original opt-in date of each such dismissed plaintiff in Griffith will toll the applicable statute of
limitations for any such claims for a period of ninety (90) days following dismissal without the
need to file an arbitration demand, subject to any joint extension of the parties.
4.

Named Plaintiff Debra Griffith will continue to act as the Named Plaintiff in a

nominal capacity. Plaintiff, through counsel, will select a suitable substitute named plaintiff in
light of the stipulated conditional class and dismiss Plaintiff Griffith pursuant to Paragraph 3,
above, within the ninety (90) day tolling period set out above.
5.

This case is hereby TRANSFERRED to the United States District Court for the

Northern District of Ohio, Western Division pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1404(a).
6.

The parties will notify the transferee Court of the relationship of this action to

Raisor. The manner of class notice and consent to join the conditional class in this case shall be
determined by the transferee Court following the transfer of the case.
7.

Nothing herein prevents or prejudices the Defendant’s ability or right to defend any

claims herein, and in the future, to move for decertification of the conditionally-certified class
herein, or file a motion on an issue other than conditional certification, that takes the position that
Plaintiffs therein are not similarly situated.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
/s/ Algenon L. Marbley___
ALGENON L. MARBLEY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
DATED: September 10, 2018

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