Finally, Plaintiff seeks to certify the following class asserting claims under the Iowa usury law: All individuals who have signed pre-employment contracts and/or driver employment contracts with CRST that have provided for an interest rate on amounts owed at a rate higher than the maximum lawful rate of interest determined by the Iowa Superintendent of Banking (ranging between 3.5 percent and 7.25 percent per annum) at any time since January 21, 2006. See Amchem Prods., Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 617 (1997) (noting superiority requirement's concern with "vindication of the rights of groups of people who individually would be without effective strength to bring their opponents into court at all" (internal quotation marks omitted)). 2016) (finding predominance satisfied for consumer- fraud class based on defendant's "standardized conduct"). At this stage, whether the transactions alleged comport with Iowa law is a question common to the proposed usury class. Montoya was not paid wages during Phases 1 and 2. 2d 357, 368 (S.D.N.Y. Iowa Code § 91A.2(4). Much like a straight minimum-wage violation, ascertaining whether a "free and clear" violation occurred will require some amount of individualized arithmetic. First, the Court must determine "whether any potential conflicts exist between the named plaintiffs and the prospective class members." See, e.g., Cunha v. Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC, 221 F. Supp. But without more, these interactions are not enough to satisfy Runyon for the entire proposed class of drivers. CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Brian Panish showing jurors the aftermath of the collision. According to filings in the case, AMN paid workers who traveled more than 50 miles from home for jobs an hourly rate along with a $245 weekly “per diem” designed to cover housing, meals and travel costs. § 216(b). See Prescott v. Prudential Ins. 798 reviews from CRST Expedited employees about CRST Expedited culture, salaries, benefits, work-life balance, management, job security, and more. To forestall any such issues, the Court may consider bifurcating the claims or some other procedural step. They have a tendency to run you for a couple of weeks then put you on city loads for a few days which pay very bad. 2004) (citing 29 U.S.C. Per Diem Rates . It is worth noting that Kaiser did state that a usury claim requires the unlawful interest rate to "exist at the inception of the contract." Id. Although the parties nominally agree that this is the standard, Defendants at oral argument urged the Court to probe deeper and determine whether plaintiffs have asserted a viable FLSA violation before certifying the collective action. Co., 307 F. Supp. Similarly, the tuition fees, which range between $3,950 and $6,500, are based on averages that take into account all of CRST's costs associated with the Driver Training Program, including meals, housing, transportation, advertising, recruiting, signing bonuses, and other costs. Click here to remove this judgment from your profile. For the plaintiffs: Kye Pawlenko of Hayes Pawlenko, For AMN: Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum of Akerman. To certify a class under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, the Court first must undertake a "rigorous analysis" to determine whether Plaintiff has satisfied "the four threshold requirements" of Rule 23(a): numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation. In re Nexium Antitrust Litig., 777 F.3d 9, 17 (1st Cir. Per Diem Rates. Montoya's payroll records also reflect various deductions from his wages. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Iowa, claimed Swift was intentionally interfering with CRST’s driver training program, as well as unjustly enriching itself. During Phase 3, CRST also deducts the cost of a mandatory drug test from drivers' pay. The lodging cost is based on an average for all participants in the Driver Training Program and does not change based on the actual cost of lodging provided to a particular driver. Accordingly, the proposed opt-in plaintiffs are similarly situated for purposes of an FLSA collective action. Defendants are Iowa corporations that transport goods in interstate commerce. Fed. The motion to certify a consumer-fraud class (Dkt. Sales Practice Litig., 148 F.3d 283, 311 (3d Cir. Based on CRST payroll records, Montoya has calculated the hourly pay rate that he and three other opt-in plaintiffs received over the course of several weeks in 2014 and 2015. Plaintiff has not convincingly demonstrated that CRST's long-haul truck drivers typically fall within this definition. Typicality requires that the class representative's "injuries arise from the same events or course of conduct as do the injuries of the class," but his claims need not be "identical to those of absent class members." Factual Basis for Certifying Collective Action. Drivers must later repay this cost as an "advance." contains alphabet), UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS. Runyon v. Kubota Tractor Corp., 653 N.W.2d 582, 585 (Iowa 2002) (quoting Iowa Code § 91A.2(3)). "Per diem" or day rate is a fixed amount of reimbursement paid to … Prior to Phase 1, CRST recruiters arrange for drivers' transportation to the Phase 1 facility. ONE CRST We’ve become One CRST and that not only means more ways to drive, but also more ways to grow. For these reasons, Plaintiff's motion to certify a collective action under the FLSA is ALLOWED. 2003) (noting, under Rule 23, that "[t]he individuation of damages in consumer class actions is rarely determinative" to class-certification question). This is true even if their individual damages must be separately calculated. You would then pin a compensation cost to each day and multiply this figure by the number of days you've been injured. Likewise, the M&IE per diem cannot be given up or transferred to lodging costs. Although the issue has not been squarely raised and the Court does not decide it here, this is a "less stringent" standard than the one imposed by Rule 23. Defendants' arguments to the contrary are unavailing. See also Knepper v. Rite Aid Corp., 675 F.3d 249, 257 (3d Cir. Without the collection letter, the only documents in play are the Training Agreement and Employment Contract. In re Credit Suisse-AOL, 253 F.R.D. This agreement also explains that if a driver satisfies certain preconditions, CRST will advance certain of the driver's Phase 1 and Phase 2 expenses, such as travel, lodging, and tuition, subject to the repayment conditions discussed below. Plaintiff's position is that the 1.5 percent monthly interest called for in the Training Agreement and Employment Contract imposes an annual interest rate of 18 percent -- well in excess of Iowa's maximum allowable rate, which since 2006 has not exceeded 7.25 percent. Ass'n, 491 F. Supp. 29 U.S.C. The Training Agreement and Employment Contract are both standardized documents that CRST uses nationwide. The named plaintiffs in Monday’s case claimed in their lawsuit that because the per diems did not reflect their actual travel expenses, they should have been regarded as compensation and included in their regular rate of pay. § 714H.5(1) ("A consumer who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property as the result of a prohibited practice or act in violation of this chapter may bring an action at law to recover actual damages."). Count I alleges that CRST violated the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. See Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 136 S. Ct. 1036, 1045 (2016) (assuming, without deciding, "that the standard for certifying a collective action under the FLSA is no more stringent than the standard for certifying a class" under Rule 23). Per Diem into you as a incentive to make the difference up. Predominance requires Plaintiff to demonstrate "that the questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members." The second is when a driver drops out during Phase 1.
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