Bullington v. Frank's Dixie Meat Center & Catering et al

Filing 12

ORDER granting 6 Motion to Strike unclean hands defense.(Signed by Judge Gregg Costa) Parties notified.(ccarnew, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
GALVESTON DIVISION
HEATHER BULLINGTON,
Plaintiff,
VS.
FRANK'S DIXIE MEAT CENTER &
CATERING, et al,
Defendants.

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:13-CV-00051

ORDER
This lawsuit arises from allegations that Defendants, Frank’s Dixie Meat
Center & Catering and Frank Ghinaudo, failed to pay Plaintiff Heather Bullington
the minimum wage and overtime wages required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Defendants assert an “unclean hands” affirmative defense in their Original Answer.
Docket Entry No. 5 ¶ 25. Bullington now moves to strike the affirmative defense
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) because Defendants failed to
allege any factual support for it. See Docket Entry No. 6.
As an initial matter, it is unclear if Defendants are still pursuing the unclean
hands defense given that they have not responded to Bullington’s motion to strike,
even though the response was due roughly a month ago, on May 6, 2013. In any
event, the Court concludes that Defendants’ barebones defense that “Plaintiff has
‘unclean hands,’” Docket Entry No. 5 ¶ 25, is insufficient to meet the pleading
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requirements of Rule 8. See Home Mgmt. Solutions, Inc. v. Prescient, Inc., No. 0720608-CIV, 2007 WL 2412834, at *4 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 21, 2007) (striking unclean
hands defense due to lack of factual support); Groves v. Dury, No. 2:06-cv-338FtM-99SPC, 2006 WL 2556944, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 1, 2006) (“[D]efendant’s
mere assertion of ‘Plaintiff’s claims are barred in whole or in part by virtue of their
own unclean hands’ sets forth no facts and is insufficiently plead.”).
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Bullington’s motion to strike (Docket
Entry No. 6) and STRIKES the unclean hands defense WITHOUT PREJUDICE
to Defendants reasserting it with some factual support.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
SIGNED this 5th day of June, 2013.

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Gregg Costa
United States District Judge

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