An important part of Muskat Devine’s practice is defending employers in complex wage and hour litigation. On September 25, 2019, Muskat Devine scored a major victory for a firm client by winning summary judgment in a large collective-action case involving application of the FLSA’s Motor Carrier Act (DOT) exemption, styled Norman et al. v. QES Wireline, LLC, Civil Action No. 4:16-cv-02396, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Muskat Devine obtained an opinion from District Judge Sim Lake (adopting in full the recommendation of Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson) granting class-wide summary judgment to our client on the Motor Carrier Act exemption and rejecting application of the Technical Corrections Act exception to a class of wireline field engineers. Muskat Devine lawyers convinced the Court that plaintiffs attempting to invoke the exception bear the burden to show that they performed work involving non-DOT regulated vehicles on more than a de minimis basis in a workweek. Because the plaintiffs failed to do so, the Court granted our client’s motion and dismissed the case.
The Magistrate Judge’s recommendation and the District Court’s adoption of the recommendation are available by clicking the following links: Docket 152 – Memorandum, Recommendation and Order and Docket 155 – Adoption of MR&O.