Dix v. RCSH Operations, LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

FORT MYERS DIVISION

ROBERT DIX, on behalf of

himself and all others

similarly situated and

MICHAEL PALOMBO,

Plaintiffs,

v. Case No: 2:20-cv-98-FtM-29MRM

RCSH OPERATIONS, LLC,

Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

This matter comes before the Court on plaintiffs’ Motion for

Conditional Certification of Collective Action Under the FLSA and

Class Action Under Rule 23 and Facilitation of Court-Authorized

Opt-In Notice (Doc. #22) filed on May 1, 2020. Defendant filed an

Opposition (Doc. #27) on June 15, 2020, to which plaintiffs filed

a Reply (Doc. #32) on June 29, 2020. For the reasons set forth

below, the motion is denied.

I.

On March 1, 2020, plaintiff Robert Dix (plaintiff or Dix)

filed a four-count Amended Class/Collective Action Complaint (Doc.

#6) (Amended Complaint) against defendant RCSH Operations, LLC

(defendant or RCSH), alleging violations of the federal Fair Labors

Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., (Counts One and

Two), and the Florida Minimum Wage Act (FMWA), § 448.110, Fla.

Stat. and the Florida Constitution, Article X, § 24, (Counts Three

and Four). All four claims generally relate to defendant’s alleged

failure to pay minimum wage to the restaurant servers it employs.

Specifically, Counts One and Three relate to defendant’s failure

to reimburse uniform and tool expenses (Doc. #6, pp. 13-15, 18-

24), while Counts Two and Four relate to the performance of non-

tipped duties (id. pp. 15-17, 24-29.) The Amended Complaint

presents the FLSA claims as collective actions pursuant to 29

U.S.C. § 216(b), and the FMWA/Florida Constitution claims as class

1

actions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.

Subsequent to the Amended Complaint being filed, Michael Palombo

joined the action as a plaintiff. (Doc. #21.)

Based on the Amended Complaint and the evidence submitted by

2

the parties , the following background facts are relevant to

certification requests:

1

The Eleventh Circuit allows FLSA claims and class actions

claims to be brought in the same proceeding. Calderone v. Scott,

838 F.3d 1101, 1103 (11th Cir. 2016).

2

“[S]ometimes it may be necessary for the court to probe

behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification

question” because “class determination generally involves

considerations that are enmeshed in the factual and legal issues

comprising the plaintiff’s cause of action.” Wal-Mart Stores,

Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338, 350-51 (2011) (citations and marks

omitted).

Defendant is a New Orleans limited liability company which

operates a nationwide restaurant chain with numerous locations in

the state of Florida. (Doc. #6, ¶¶ 1, 13.) Plaintiff Dix worked

for defendant as a server at defendant’s Bonita Springs steakhouse

from August 2018 to September 2019. (Id. ¶ 5, 25.) Plaintiff

Palombo worked as a server at the same Bonita Springs steakhouse

from October 2017 to February 2020. (Doc. #22-2, p. 34.)

Both plaintiffs have supplied Declarations in support of the

allegations in the Amended Complaint and the motion for

certification. (Doc. #22-1; Doc. #22-2.) Both Declarations

contain similar assertions:

•

Upon being hired as a server, defendant required plaintiffs

to spend thirty hours training. During this time,

plaintiffs were paid $8.25 per hour. (Doc. #22-1, ¶¶ 5,

13-14; Doc. #22-2, ¶¶ 6, 13-14.)

•

Prior to beginning their employment, plaintiffs were

required by defendant to purchase a “uniform” consisting

of formal pressed button-down white oxford dress shirts,

black formal slacks, a muted, non-offensive colored tie, a

black belt, black socks, and black non-slip dress shoes.

Each plaintiff spent over $260 on this attire and defendant

required the uniform be worn in order for plaintiffs to

work. (Doc. #22-1, ¶¶ 6-8, 12; Doc. #22-2, ¶¶ 7-9, 17.)

•

In addition to the attire, defendant required plaintiffs

to purchase a wine key, black pens, and a lighter for use

as a server. Each plaintiff spent $12.75 on these tools.

Neither plaintiff was reimbursed for the expenses related

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to the tools or the clothing. (Doc. #22-1, ¶¶ 9-11; Doc.

#22-2, ¶¶ 10-12.)

•

After completing the week of training, each plaintiff was

paid a reduced hourly wage plus the tips he received as a

server. Each plaintiff was typically scheduled to report

to work around 4 p.m. and work through 10 p.m. Defendant

would instruct plaintiffs and other similar servers to

spend time setting up and “breaking down” the restaurant.

As such, servers would regularly spend at least an hour

and a half of their six-hour shift performing non-tipped

duties. Neither plaintiff was ever paid more than their

reduced hourly wage, regardless of the length of time they

4

spent performing non-tipped duties. (Doc. #6, ¶¶ 49-50;

Doc. #22-1, ¶¶ 24-35; Doc. #22-2, ¶¶ 25-41.)

3

“Upon information and belief,” plaintiffs state defendant

required all servers in each of its restaurant locations “to comply

with this nationwide uniform company policy,” and that neither

plaintiff was aware of a server “who was ever reimbursed for the

costs/expenses for purchase and maintenance of the uniform, and

purchase of the tools.” (Doc. #22-1, ¶¶ 22-23; Doc. #22-2, ¶¶ 23-

24.)

4

“Upon information and belief,” plaintiffs state that all

servers in defendant’s Florida restaurants received the same

Plaintiffs now seek conditional certification of two classes

under the FLSA and certification of two classes under Rule 23 and

the FMWA. (Doc. #22, p. 2.)

II.

Plaintiffs seek conditional certification of a collective

action under the FLSA for two proposed classes:

All Restaurant Servers who worked for Defendant

throughout the United States during the three (3) years

preceding this lawsuit who were required to purchase a

uniform and tools prior to beginning their first week of

employment with Defendant and not reimbursed these

costs.

. . .

All Restaurant Servers who worked for Defendant

throughout the United States during the three (3) years

preceding this lawsuit who were required to spend more

than 20% of their shifts performing “non-tipped”

incidental duties and did not receive the full

applicable federal minimum wage for this work.

(Doc. #22, p. 2.)

A. Conditional Collective Action Certification Requirements

The FLSA authorizes “similarly situated” employees to

maintain a collective action against one or more employers accused

of violating the statute’s wage provisions. 29 U.S.C. § 216(b).

Certification of an FLSA collective action is typically a two-

stage process. Morgan v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc., 551 F.3d

reduced hourly wage regardless of the duties and tasks they

performed during a work shift. (Doc. #22-1, ¶¶ 36; Doc. #22-2, ¶¶

29-31.)

1233, 1260 (11th Cir. 2008) (“[W]e have sanctioned a two-stage

procedure for district courts to effectively manage FLSA

collective actions in the pretrial phase.”). The first stage, and

the one relevant to this motion, is known as the “notice” or

“conditional certification” stage. Id. at 1260-61. “At the notice

stage, a court must determine whether: (1) there are other

employees who desire to opt in to the action; and (2) the employees

who desire to opt in are ‘similarly situated.’” Hart v. JPMorgan

Chase Bank, N.A., 2012 WL 6196035, *3 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 12, 2012)

(citing Dybach v. State of Fla. Dep’t of Corrs., 942 F.2d 1562,

1567-68 (11th Cir. 1991)). Although this determination is made

using a “fairly lenient standard,” the plaintiff must offer

“detailed allegations supported by affidavits which successfully

engage defendants’ affidavits to the contrary.” Id. (quoting

Grayson v. K Mart Corp., 79 F.3d 1086, 1097 (11th Cir. 1996)).

The decision to conditionally certify a collective FLSA action

lies within the sound discretion of the district court. Id.

(citing Hipp v. Liberty Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 252 F.3d 1208, 1217

(11th Cir. 2001)).

B. Satisfaction of Conditional Certification Requirements

Defendant opposes conditional certification, asserting

plaintiffs have not sufficiently demonstrated either requirement,

i.e., (1) that other individuals in the proposed FLSA classes

desire to opt in to the litigation, or (2) that individuals in the

putative FLSA classes are sufficiently similarly situated. (Doc.

#27, pp. 6-12.) Defendant also argues that the “highly

individualize nature” of the claims in the Amended Complaint makes

collective action treatment “unworkable.” (Id. pp. 12-15.)

Because the Court agrees with defendant’s first argument, it need

not address the remaining requirement.

“[P]laintiffs have the burden of demonstrating a reasonable

basis for crediting their assertions that aggrieved individuals

exist[] in the broad class that they proposed.” Haynes v. Singer

Co., Inc., 696 F.2d 884, 887 (11th Cir. 1983). “Evidence of other

employees who desire to opt in may be based on affidavits, consents

to join the lawsuit, or expert evidence on the existence of other

similarly-situated employees.” Thomas v. Waste Pro USA, Inc., 360

F. Supp. 3d 1313, 1321 (M.D. Fla. 2019) (quoting Vondriska v.

Premier Mortg. Funding, Inc., 564 F. Supp. 2d 1330, 1334 (M.D.

Fla. 2007)). However, a plaintiff’s or attorney’s belief in the

existence of other employees who desire to opt in and “unsupported

expectations that additional plaintiffs will subsequently come

forward” are insufficient to justify certification. Hart, 2012 WL

6196035, *4 (citation omitted); see also Haynes 696 F.2d at 887

(noting that there was no evidence before the district court where

“[t]he judge had before him only counsel’s unsupported assertions

that FLSA violations were widespread and that additional

plaintiffs would come from other stores”).

Plaintiffs attempt to meet their burden of demonstrating

other employees wish to opt in by asserting that: (1) plaintiff

Palombo has already joined the lawsuit; (2) other employees have

expressed interest in joining the lawsuit but are afraid of

possible retaliation; and (3) there must be others since defendant

applies a common payroll and uniform policy to all its restaurant

servers in the United States. (Doc. #22, pp. 15-16.) Defendant

responds that this is an insufficient showing. (Doc. #27, pp. 6-

8.) The Court agrees with defendant.

The fact that plaintiff Palombo has joined in this action is

insufficient by itself to support certification of the nationwide

class plaintiffs propose. One opt-in plaintiff may or may not be

deemed sufficient. Compare Torres v. Nature Coast Home Care LLC,

2016 WL 5870217, *2 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 7, 2016)(“[E]ven one opt-in

notice can be sufficient to meet the first requirement for

conditional certification.”), with Denson v. Architectural

Coatings, Inc., 2011 WL 46122, *2 (M.D. Fla. Jan. 6, 2011)

(concluding plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient evidence that

other employees wanted to opt in despite three individuals filing

consents to join). The fact that only one employee has joined

this action since it was initiated over nine months ago undermines

the argument that additional servers wish to join. See Kubiak v.

S.W. Cowboy, Inc., 2014 WL 2625181, *11 (M.D. Fla. June 12, 2014)

(“[T]he fact that no additional server has sought to opt-in for

nearly a year while this lawsuit has been pending, further casts

doubt on Plaintiffs’ assertion that other servers desire to join

this action, and indeed supports the opposite inference that all

those interested in joining this lawsuit have already done so.”

(citation and marks omitted)); Denson, 2011 WL 46122, *2 (“[S]ince

the named Plaintiff . . . initiated this litigation over seven

months ago, only three other individuals have come forward to join

this lawsuit. Therefore, the Court will not approve the

certification of the class.”).

Plaintiffs also state that “[o]ther current and former

employees wish to opt-in to this lawsuit but are afraid of possible

retaliation,” and that plaintiff Palombo “has spoken with other

servers about wanting to join but individuals are scared of losing

their jobs unless the court authorizes notice.” (Doc. #22, pp.

15-16.) To support these assertions, plaintiffs cite generally to

their own Declarations, which are attached to the motion. (Id.)

However, neither Declaration contains any reference to other

employees, current or former, who may wish to join this

5

litigation. (Doc. #22-1, pp. 28-32; Doc. #22-2, pp. 34-39.)

Accordingly, the motion’s assertion that other employees wish to

join but are afraid is unsupported in the record. See Kubiak,

5

Defendant notes this problem in its Opposition. (Doc. #27,

p. 7 n.4.) Nonetheless, plaintiffs fail to address this issue in

their Reply.

2014 WL 2625181, *10 (“Plaintiffs’ conclusory statements and mere

belief or unsupported expectations that others desire to join,

without providing any specific facts to support their belief that

other employees are interested in opting in, do not provide a

sufficient basis for certification.”).

Finally, plaintiffs note that defendant enforced a common

payroll policy of refusing to properly compensate servers, and

applied its uniform policy throughout the United States. (Doc.

#22, p. 16.) Plaintiffs seem to be suggesting that because

defendant had the same policies in force across the country, a

class of nationwide servers exists. The issue, however, is not

whether a class of potential plaintiffs exists, but whether other

similarly situated employees who wish to join the collective action

exist. See Rojas v. Uber Technologies, Inc., 2017 WL 2790543, *3

(S.D. Fla. June 27, 2017) (“Rojas claims that ‘similarly situated

employees as Plaintiff exist.’ However, Rojas must show that there

are similarly situated employees who desire to opt-in.” (citations

omitted)). Even assuming plaintiffs’ assertions are correct,

6

which is disputed , plaintiffs have failed to offer evidence that

6

Plaintiffs support their claims that the payroll policy is

widespread by citing to their Declarations, which are

predominantly based “upon information and belief” and mainly

relate to Florida. (Doc. #22-1, pp. 30-32; Doc. #22-2, pp. 36-

37.) To support the claim that the uniform policy is nationwide,

plaintiffs cite to defendant’s job advertisements that require

servers report to work “in the correct uniform.” (Doc. #22-3, pp.

any of these nationwide employees wish to join this action. See

Hart, 2012 WL 6196035, *4 (“Plaintiff has failed to make an

affirmative showing that other employees from across the nation

wish to join this lawsuit so as to warrant conditional

certification.”); see also Rojas, 2017 WL 2790543, *3 (finding

plaintiff failed to meet burden of demonstrating there were others

that desired to opt in to nationwide class when plaintiff only

provided his declaration and one other employee’s notice of consent

to join); Ramirez v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., 2014 WL 12573981, *3

(M.D. Fla. Apr. 22, 2014) (“Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate to

the Court’s satisfaction that other employees desire to opt-in

based on the conclusory declarations of the three plaintiffs

participating in this case. The Court finds that Plaintiff has

not demonstrated a reasonable basis for crediting the assertion

that aggrieved individuals exist in the class she proposes,

particularly when compared to the 181 Anthropologie stores

operating in 41 different states throughout the United States.”

(citation omitted)).

Although plaintiffs’ burden at this stage is not heavy, “it

is not ‘invisible.’” Hart, 2012 WL 6196035, *4 (quoting Brooks v.

Rainaldi Plumbing Inc., 2006 WL 3544737, *2 (M.D. Fla. Dec. 8,

41-75.) In contrast, defendant has provided evidence that no such

“corporate-wide” policies exist. (Doc. #27-1, pp. 27-30.)

2006)). Based on the evidence before it, the Court finds

plaintiffs have failed to meet their burden of demonstrating the

existence of other similarly situated employees who wish to opt in

to the FLSA collective action. Conditional certification of the

two proposed FLSA classes will be denied.

III.

Plaintiffs seek certification of the following classes under

Rule 23 with regards to the FMWA/Florida Constitution claims:

All Restaurant Servers who worked for Defendant within

Florida during the five (5) years preceding this

lawsuit, and who were required to purchase a uniform

prior to beginning their first week of employment with

Defendant and not reimbursed these costs.

. . .

All Restaurant Servers who worked for Defendant within

Florida during the five (5) years preceding this

lawsuit, and who were not paid the full applicable

minimum wage when more than 20% of their shift was spent

performing non-tipped duties and responsibilities.

(Doc. #22, p. 2.) For the reasons explained below, the Court

denies the requested certification.

A. Rule 23 Certification Standards

The Eleventh Circuit has summarized the relevant law

governing class certification as follows:

Before a district court may grant a motion for class

certification, a plaintiff seeking to represent a

proposed class must establish that the proposed class is

“adequately defined and clearly ascertainable.”

DeBremaecker v. Short, 433 F.2d 733, 734 (5th Cir. 1970)

. . . .

If the plaintiff’s proposed class is adequately defined

and clearly ascertainable, the plaintiff must then

establish the four requirements listed in Federal Rule

of Civil Procedure 23(a). Those requirements are:

(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members

is impracticable;

(2) there are questions of law or fact common to the

class;

(3) the claims or defenses of the representative

parties are typical of the claims or defenses of

the class; and

(4) the representative parties will fairly and

adequately protect the interests of the class.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a). Those four requirements are

commonly referred to as “numerosity, commonality,

typicality, and adequacy of representation.” See, e.g.,

Valley Drug Co. v. Geneva Pharm., Inc., 350 F.3d 1181,

1188 (11th Cir. 2003).

In addition to establishing the Rule 23(a) requirements,

a plaintiff must also establish that the proposed class

satisfies at least one of the three requirements listed

in Rule 23(b). Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b); Pickett v. Iowa

Beef Processors, 209 F.3d 1276, 1279 (11th Cir. 2000).

Little v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 691 F.3d 1302, 1304 (11th Cir. 2012)

(footnote omitted). Additionally,

[t]he party seeking class certification has the burden

of proof. And the entire point of a burden of proof is

that, if doubts remain about whether the standard is

satisfied, the party with the burden of proof loses. All

else being equal, the presumption is against class

certification because class actions are an exception to

our constitutional tradition of individual litigation.

A district court that has doubts about whether the

requirements of Rule 23 have been met should refuse

certification until they have been met.

Brown v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc., 817 F.3d 1225, 1233–34

(11th Cir. 2016) (marks and citations omitted). Thus, a plaintiff

seeking class certification

must affirmatively demonstrate his compliance with Rule

23 by proving that the requirements are in fact

satisfied. And the district court must conduct a

rigorous analysis to determine whether the movant

carried his burden, which will frequently entail overlap

with the merits of the plaintiff’s underlying claim. Of

course, the district court can consider the merits only

to the extent they are relevant to determining whether

the Rule 23 prerequisites for class certification are

satisfied. But if a question of fact or law is relevant

to that determination, then the district court has a

duty to actually decide it and not accept it as true or

construe it in anyone’s favor.

Id. at 1234 (marks, emphasises, and citations omitted).

B. Adequately Defined and Clearly Ascertainable Class

The Eleventh Circuit requires that the proposed class be

“adequately defined” and “clearly ascertainable.” Little, 691

F.3d at 1303; Karhu v. Vital Pharm., Inc., 621 Fed. App’x 945, 946

(11th Cir. 2015). In unpublished opinions, the Eleventh Circuit

has stated that a class is not ascertainable “unless the class

definition contains objective criteria that allow for class

members to be identified in an administratively feasible way.”

Karhu, 621 Fed. App’x at 946 (citing Bussey v. Macon Cty. Greyhound

Park, Inc., 562 Fed App’x 782, 787 (11th Cir. 2014)). “Identifying

class members is administratively feasible when it is a ‘manageable

process that does not require much, if any, individual inquiry.’”

Id. (quoting Bussey, 562 Fed. App’x at 787); see also Belcher v.

Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, 2018 WL 1701963, *5 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 9,

2018) (“Trial courts within the Eleventh Circuit have commonly

7

applied the administratively feasible requirement.”).

Despite plaintiffs’ “burden of satisfying all implicit and

explicit requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23,”

Bussey, 562 Fed. App’x at 787, the motion does not address whether

the proposed classes are adequately defined or clearly

ascertainable. Regarding the latter element, the motion simply

seeks discovery of defendant’s employment records since February

2017 (Doc. #22, p. 17), suggesting plaintiffs intend to use these

records to identify potential class members. However, “[a]

plaintiff cannot establish ascertainability simply by asserting

that class members can be identified using the defendant’s records;

the plaintiff must also establish that the records are in fact

useful for identification purposes, and that identification will

be administratively feasible.” Karhu, 621 Fed. App’x at 948.

Because plaintiffs have offered no argument as to whether the

7

There is currently a split among the circuits as to whether

a plaintiff must demonstrate at the certification stage an

“administratively feasible” method of identifying class members.

Compare Byrd v. Aaron’s Inc.,784 F.3d 154, 163 (3d Cir. 2015) and

Young v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 693 F.3d 532, 537-38 (6th Cir.

2012), with Mullins v. Direct Digital, LLC, 795 F.3d 654, 658 (7th

Cir. 2015) and Briseno v. ConAgra Foods, Inc., 844 F.3d 1121,

1125-26 (9th Cir. 2017). The Eleventh Circuit has yet to address

this split in a published opinion. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC v.

Belcher, 2018 WL 3198552, *3 (11th Cir. June 29, 2018).

identification of the proposed class members is administratively

ascertainable, the Court finds they have failed to meet their

burden. See Rivera v. Servis One, Inc., 2019 WL 1034071, *4 (M.D.

Fla. Jan. 24, 2019) (“Plaintiffs do not provide any additional

information regarding ascertainability in the Motion, and this

conclusory assertion that the proposed class members can be

identified using the Defendant’s records is insufficient.” (citing

8

Karhu, 621 Fed. App’x at 948)). As the clearly ascertainable

8

Even assuming plaintiffs intend to identify class members

via defendant’s employment records, it is unclear if this would be

administratively feasible. As noted, “[i]dentifying class members

is administratively feasible when it is a manageable process that

does not require much, if any, individual inquiry.” Karhu, 621

Fed. App’x at 946 (marks and citation omitted). Defendant has

produced evidence (1) that it does not have corporate-wide policies

requiring “side work” or the purchase of uniforms and tools, and

(2) that there is a great variety in the amount of side work

performed by servers, and in the clothes worn and tools used by

servers on the job. (Doc. #2701, pp. 27-30.) Accordingly, while

defendant’s records would be useful in identifying all the servers

that have worked for defendant since February 2017, it would seem

greater “individual inquiry” would nonetheless be required to

determine class membership. See Sliwa v. Bright House Networks,

LLC, 333 F.R.D. 255, 272 (M.D. Fla. 2019) (“Because identifying

the members of Plaintiff’s proposed classes would require

significant individualized inquiries, Plaintiff has not proposed

an administratively feasible method for identifying the classes,

and Plaintiff has thus failed to carry his burden of establishing

ascertainability.”); Stalley v. ADS Alliance Data Sys., Inc., 296

F.R.D. 670, 678 (M.D. Fla. 2013) (“[A] class should not be

certified if the court must engage in individualized

determinations of disputed fact in order to ascertain a person’s

membership in the class.”); Walewski v. ZeniMax Media, Inc., 2012

WL 834125, *4 (M.D. Fla. Jan. 30, 2012) (“A court should deny class

certification . . . where the number of individualized

determinations required to determine class membership becomes too

administratively difficult.” (citation omitted)).

element is a prerequisite for class certification, Little, 691

F.3d at 1304, plaintiffs’ failure to establish this element is

sufficient grounds to deny the motion. Nonetheless, the Court

will address the other Rule 23 factors.

C. Numerosity

Plaintiffs may utilize a class action suit “only if: (1) the

class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(1). “Although mere allegations of numerosity

are insufficient to meet this prerequisite, a plaintiff need not

show the precise number of members in the class.” Evans v. U.S.

Pipe & Foundry Co., 696 F.2d 925, 930 (11th Cir. 1983) (citations

omitted). “Nevertheless, a plaintiff still bears the burden of

making some showing, affording the district court the means to

make a supported factual finding, that the class actually certified

meets the numerosity requirement.” Vega v. T-Mobile USA, Inc.,

564 F.3d 1256, 1267 (11th Cir. 2009).

“The proper focus for the numerosity requirement is whether

the joinder of all class members would be impracticable in view of

their numbers and all other relevant factors.” Kubiak, 2014 WL

2625181, *12 (citation omitted). Factors to consider are “the

geographic dispersion of the class members, judicial economy, and

the ease of identifying the members of the class and their

addresses.” Id. (citation omitted). As noted, while plaintiffs

need not show the precise number of members in the class, they

must show “some evidence of or reasonably estimate the number of

class members.” Id. (citation omitted).

Defendant argues plaintiffs cannot establish the numerosity

element because joinder of all servers who fall within the proposed

class is feasible. (Doc. #27, p. 16.) This argument seems to be

premised on defendant’s assertion that “there are only 14 RCSH

restaurants in Florida.” (Id.) However, defendant has also

offered evidence that it employs approximately two hundred servers

9

throughout the state of Florida. (Doc. #27-1, ¶ 9.) This is

consistent with plaintiffs’ “conservative estimate” that three

hundred servers fall within the proposed classes. (Doc. #22, p.

21.) The Court finds plaintiffs have offered a reasonable estimate

of the proposed classes and, given this large number, demonstrated

the impracticability of joinder. See Schojan v. Papa Johns Int’l,

9

There is a dispute between the parties as to how much weight

the court should give this evidence. In support of its Opposition,

defendant has offered a declaration from Katie Gralton, a Human

Resources Generalist employed by non-party Ruth’s Hospitality

Group, Inc. (Doc. #27-1, ¶¶ 2-3.) Ms. Gralton makes various

assertions with regards to defendant, its restaurants, and its

policies. (Id. ¶¶ 3-37.) In response, plaintiffs argue that

because Ms. Gralton does not work for defendant, there is no

information to explain how she has personal knowledge of defendant

or its operation. (Doc. #32, p. 1.) At the same time, however,

plaintiffs rely upon Ms. Gralton’s estimate of two hundred servers

to support their argument for numerosity. (Id. p. 10.) Given

that the parties seem to agree at least two hundred servers

currently work for defendant, the Court finds it unnecessary to

address the other issues at this time.

Inc., 303 F.R.D. 659, 665 (M.D. Fla. 2014) (noting that the

numerosity requirement is a “generally low hurdle”); Kubiak, 2014

WL 2625181, *13 (“While there is no fixed class size that will

satisfy the numerosity requirement, the Court is satisfied that

joinder of more than 150 to 200 individuals would be

impracticable.”). Accordingly, the Court concludes the numerosity

element is satisfied.

D. Commonality

Under Rule 23(a), plaintiffs must also establish that “there

are questions of law or fact common to the class.” Fed. R. Civ.

P. 23(a)(2). To satisfy this commonality requirement, the class

members’ “claims must depend upon a common contention,” and that

common contention “must be of such a nature that it is capable of

classwide resolution.” Dukes, 564 U.S. at 350. This means “that

determination of its truth or falsity will resolve an issue that

is central to the validity of each one of the claims in one stroke.”

Id.

In the motion, plaintiffs assert that the following issues

are common for all members of the proposed classes:

a. Whether defendant was their employer during the relevant

time period;

b. Whether defendant required servers to incur uniform

expenses without being reimbursed;

c. Whether defendant required servers to incur tool

expenses without being reimbursed;

d. Whether defendant has any good-faith defense for failing

to comply with the FMWA during the relevant time period;

e. Whether defendant required servers to spend more than

twenty percent of their shifts performing non-tipped

duties;

f. Whether defendant failed to pay servers the applicable

Florida minimum wage when they spent more than twenty

percent of their shift performing non-tipped duties.

(Doc. #22, p. 23.)

The Court agrees that common issues of law and fact exist.

For example, Count Three of the Amended Complaint is based upon an

assertion that defendant required its servers purchase a uniform.

(Doc. #6, p. 18.) However, a determination that the attire

defendant requires newly-hired servers to purchase does not

constitute a “uniform” under federal and Florida law “will resolve

an issue that is central to the validity of each one of the claims

in one stroke.” Dukes, 564 U.S. at 350. Accordingly, given the

similarity in the claims of the proposed class members as well as

the common issues of fact and law applicable to those claims, the

Court finds plaintiffs have sufficiently established the

commonality element. See Tillman v. Ally Fin. Inc., 2017 WL

7194275, * 6 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 29, 2017) (noting the “commonality

requirement measures the extent to which all members of a putative

class have similar claims” (citation omitted)); Elkins v.

Equitable Life Ins. of Iowa, 1998 WL 133741, *11-12 (M.D. Jan. 27,

1998) (noting that the “main inquiry” for commonality is “whether

at least one issue exists that affects all or a significant number

of proposed class members,” and that the requirement can be

satisfied “where plaintiffs allege common or standardized conduct

10

by the defendant directed toward members of the proposed class”).

E. Typicality

Rule 23(a) requires that “the claims or defenses of the

representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of

the class.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(3). “Class members’ claims

need not be identical to satisfy the typicality requirement;

rather, there need only exist ‘a sufficient nexus . . . between

the legal claims of the named class representatives and those of

individual class members to warrant class certification.’” Ault

v. Walt Disney World Co., 692 F.3d 1212, 1216 (11th Cir. 2012)

(quoting Prado-Steiman v. Bush, 221 F.3d 1266, 1278-79 (11th Cir.

2000)). “This nexus exists if the claims or defenses of the class

and the class representative arise from the same event or pattern

10

Defendant argues that because the Court will have to make

individualized determinations for each class member, it is

impossible to resolve the claims “in one stroke.” (Doc. #27, p.

17.) Specifically, defendant argues the Court will have to

individually determine (1) whether each server was required to

make certain purchases, (2) how much they spent, (3) whether they

were reimbursed, (4) whether they were required to perform certain

duties, (5) whether the duties were tipped or non-tipped, (6) how

much time they spent on those duties, and (7) how they were

compensated for such time. (Id.) The Court finds this argument

is more applicable to the predominance issue that will be addressed

later in this Opinion and Order.

or practice and are based on the same legal theory.” Ault, 692

F.3d at 1216 (marks and citation omitted). “The main focus of the

typicality requirement is that the plaintiffs will advance the

interests of the class members by advancing their own interests.”

Kubiak, 2014 WL 2625181, *15.

Defendant argues plaintiffs fail to demonstrate typicality

because the proposed class members were in fact not required to

purchase a specific uniform or tools, or required to perform non-

tipped duties. (Doc. #27, p. 18.) Plaintiffs, however, have

offered evidence via their Declarations and the employment

announcements that contradict defendant’s assertions. (Doc. #22-

1; Doc. #22-2; Doc. #22-3; Doc. #32-2.) Given that the claims of

the proposed class members are based upon the same alleged conduct

and the same legal theory as plaintiffs’, the Court finds

plaintiffs have sufficiently demonstrated typicality. See

Kornberg v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., 741 F.2d 1332, 1337 (11th

Cir. 1984) (“A sufficient nexus is established if the claims or

defenses of the class and the class representative arise from the

same event or pattern or practice and are based on the same legal

theory.”); Mesa v. Ag-Mart Produce, Inc., 2008 WL 2790224, *6 (M.D.

Fla. July 18, 2008) (“The typicality requirement is generally met

if the class representative and the class members received the

same unlawful conduct, irrespective of whether the fact patterns

that underlie each claim vary.”).

F. Adequacy of Representation

The fourth requirement for class certification under Rule

23(a) is that “the representative parties will fairly and

adequately protect the interests of the class.” Fed. R. Civ. P.

23(a)(4). This analysis involves two inquiries: “(1) whether any

substantial conflicts of interest exist between the

representatives and the class; and (2) whether the representatives

will adequately prosecute the action.” Valley Drug Co. v. Geneva

Pharm., Inc., 350 F.3d 1181, 1189 (11th Cir. 2003) (citation

omitted). “[T]he existence of minor conflicts alone will not

defeat a party’s claim to class certification: the conflict must

be a ‘fundamental’ one going to the specific issues in

controversy.” Id. at 1189 (citations omitted).

Additionally, class counsel must fairly and adequately

represent the interests of the class. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(g)(4).

“This requirement, aimed at ensuring the rights of absent class

members are vigorously protected, is not satisfied where class

counsel represents parties whose interests are fundamentally

conflicted.” W. Morgan-E. Lawrence Water & Sewer Auth. v. 3M Co.,

737 Fed. App’x. 457, 464 (11th Cir. 2018) (citations omitted).

Plaintiffs’ motion asserts that there is no conflict in the

case, that the attorney they have retained has experience handling

FMWA claims and federal wage litigation, and that the interests of

the class will be fairly and adequately represented. (Doc. #22,

p. 24.) Defendant does not contest any of these assertions. As

there is no indication that the interests of plaintiffs are in

conflict with the interests of the proposed class members, nor any

indication plaintiffs’ counsel will not fairly and adequately

represent the interests of the class, the Court finds the adequacy

of representation prong of Rule 23 is satisfied. See In re Fla.

Cement & Concrete Antitrust Litig., 2012 WL 27668, *5 (S.D. Fla.

Jan. 3, 2012) (finding adequacy of representation prong satisfied

when there was nothing to suggest a conflict and no reason to doubt

attorney’s qualifications or ability to conduct the litigation).

G. Rule 23(b) Requirements

Finally, in addition to the Rule 23(a) requirements,

plaintiffs must also establish that the proposed classes satisfy

at least one of the three requirements listed in Rule 23(b). Fed.

R. Civ. P. 23(b). Here, plaintiffs seek certification under Rule

23(b)(3) (Doc. #22, p. 24), which permits class certification if

“the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to class

members predominate over any questions affecting only individual

members, and that a class action is superior to other available

methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.”

Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3). The Eleventh Circuit has stated:

To determine whether the requirement of predominance is

satisfied, a district court must first identify the

parties’ claims and defenses and their elements. The

district court should then classify these issues as

common questions or individual questions by predicting

how the parties will prove them at trial. Common

questions are ones where the same evidence will suffice

for each member, and individual questions are ones where

the evidence will var[y] from member to member.

After identifying the common and individual questions,

the district court should determine whether the common

questions predominate over the individual ones. We have

adopted the following rule of thumb:

[I]f common issues truly predominate over

individualized issues in a lawsuit, then the

addition or subtraction of any of the

plaintiffs to or from the class [should not]

have a substantial effect on the substance or

quantity of evidence offered. . . . If, on the

other hand, the addition of more plaintiffs

leaves the quantum of evidence introduced by

the plaintiffs as a whole relatively

undisturbed, then common issues are likely to

predominate.

But predominance requires a qualitative assessment too;

it is not bean counting, and the relative importance of

the common versus individual questions also matters.

District courts should assess predominance with its

overarching purpose in mind—namely, ensuring that a

class action would achieve economies of time, effort,

and expense, and promote . . . uniformity of decision as

to persons similarly situated, without sacrificing

procedural fairness or bringing about other undesirable

results.

Brown, 817 F.3d at 1234–35 (citations and punctuation omitted).

The Court finds there are common questions of fact and law

that would apply to each proposed class. For example, in Count

Three plaintiffs allege defendant required them to purchase a

uniform and failed to reimburse them, and that this resulted in a

per se violation of the FMWA because they were only being paid

minimum wage at the time. Accordingly, a common issue would be

whether defendant paid all its newly hired servers minimum wage

during the first week of training. However, there are also

individual questions which the Court concludes predominate the

claim. For example, while it appears defendant requires its

servers wear a certain style of clothing, the evidence suggests

defendant does not require newly hired servers purchase specific

attire or even any attire at all if they own the type of clothing

required. Accordingly, individualized inquiries would have to be

conducted as to each server regarding (1) whether they purchased

attire as part of their employment, (2) what type of attire was

purchased, and (3) whether that specific attire constituted a

“uniform” under the FLSA and FMWA. See Bussey, 562 Fed. App’x at

789 (“[C]ommon issues will not predominate over individual

questions if, as a practical matter, the resolution of [an]

overarching common issue breaks down into an unmanageable variety

of individual legal and factual issues.”) (citation and marks

omitted).

Similar problems exist as to Count Four, which alleges

defendant failed to pay plaintiffs minimum wage for the time they

spent performing non-tipped duties when such duties exceeded

twenty percent of their shifts. Such a claim would require

numerous individualized determinations for the proposed class

members, such as whether servers were required to perform non-

tipped duties, how much time each server spent on non-tipped

duties, and what wage each server was being paid at that time.

These individual questions predominate whatever common issues may

exist. See Luna v. Del Monte Fresh Produce (Se.), Inc., 354 Fed.

App’x 422, 424 (11th Cir. 2009) (“The district court did not err

in finding that liability would hinge upon evaluation of proof as

to each individual’s earnings and time worked. . . . Where, after

adjudication of the classwide issues, plaintiffs must still

introduce a great deal of individualized proof or argue a number

of individualized legal points to establish most or all of the

elements of their individual claims, such claims are not suitable

for class certification under Rule 23(b)(3).” (marks and citation

omitted)).

As the Court has determined individual issues of law and fact

predominate both Counts Three and Four, plaintiffs have failed to

meet their burden under Rule 23(b)(3). Accordingly, it is

unnecessary for the Court to address the superiority prong. See

Carey v. United States, 2013 WL 7118116, *6 (M.D. Fla. July 17,

2013) (“Due to Plaintiffs’ failure to establish numerosity under

Rule 23(a) and predominance under Rule 23(b), it is unnecessary to

address whether the superiority requirement of Rule 23(b)(3) has

been met.”).

As plaintiffs have failed to establish an administratively

feasible method of identifying proposed class members, and failed

to demonstrate common issues of law and fact predominate in Counts

Three and Four, the Court concludes class certification under Rule

23 is inappropriate.

Accordingly, it is now

ORDERED:

Plaintiffs’ Motion for Conditional Certification of

Collective Action Under the FLSA and Class Action Under Rule 23

and Facilitation of Court-Authorized Opt-In Notice (Doc. #22) is

DENIED.

DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida, this 24th day of

November, 2020.

VAY = Pe

E. STEELE

Sq IOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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