Free Joint Preliminary Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:07-cv-00790-ECH

Document 7

Filed 03/03/2008

Page 1 of 6

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

ZORAIDA GONZALEZ, et al., Plaintiffs,
V.

THE UNITED STATES, Defendant.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Case No. 07-790C (Judge Emily C. Hewitt)

JOINT PRELIMINARY STATUS REPORT Pursuant to Rule 16 and Appendix A of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims, plaintiffs and defendant respectfully submit the following joint preliminary status report in response to the questions set forth in Part III of Appendix A. 3a. Jurisdiction: The parties agree that the Court has jurisdiction to entertain and to decide this action. b. Consolidation: The parties agree that this case should not be consolidated with any other cases pending in the United States Court of Federal Claims. However, plaintiffs are employed by the same Federal agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), as are many of the plaintiffs in Adams. et al. v. United States, Case No. 90-162C, Boston, et al. v. United States, Case No. 01-518C, Kenneth W. Giles. et al. v. United States, Case No. 04-1283C, Thomas E. English, et al. v. United States, Case No. 05-572C, Lydia Y. Bagley, et al. v. United States, Case No. 06-103C, Julia E. Antilla. et al. v. United States, Case No. 06-139C, Alan M. Evans~ et al. v. United States, Case No. 06-183C, Paula F. Albert, et al. v. United States, Case No. 06-223C, Roberta Goralczyk, et al. v. United States, Case No. 06-283C, Carlos M. Aquino. et al. v. United States, Case No. 06-367C,

Case 1:07-cv-00790-ECH

Document 7

Filed 03/03/2008

Page 2 of 6

Wayne Groves. et al. v. United States, Case No. 06-456C, Evangela Forbes v. United States~ Case No. 06-510C, Kerry Hamilton v. United States, Case No. 06-680C, Deborah A. George v. United States, Case No. 06-776C, Linda A. Stocum v. United States, Case No. 07-03C, Jeffrey B. Morgan v. United States, Case No. 07-232C, Christopher J. Grush v. United States, Case No. 07-232C, Diane M. Gibson. et al. v. United States~ Case No. 07-284C, Andrew W. Breiner. et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-249C, Paul G. Jaster. et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-299C, David P. Brown v. United States, Case No. 07-325C, Anita Chalmers v. United States~ Case No. 07-361 C, Matthew J. Crusan. et at. v. United States, Case No. 07-434C, Shannon M. Garner, et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-525C, Luis A. Carrion. et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-626C, Janice R. Barnes. et al. v. United States~ Case No. 07-682C, Maria L. Gilbert, et al. v. United States~ Case No. 07-731C, Zoraida Gonzalez. et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-790C, William J. Salera v. United States, Case No. 07-886C and Kathy L. Federico. et al. v. United States, Case No. 08-44C, and asserts claims similar, if not identical, to the claims asserted in such cases. On June 29, 2007, a partial settlement agreement was reached and stipulations of partial dismissal were filed for the aforementioned cases with the exception of the instant case and Jeffrey B. Morgan v. United States, Case No. 07-2~_C, Christopher J. Grush v. United States, Case No. 07-232C, Diane M. Gibson, et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-284C, Andrew W. Breiner, et al. v. United States, Case No. 07249C, Paul G. Jaster, et al. v. United States~ Case No. 07-299C, David P. Brown v. United States, Case No. 07-325C, Anita Chahners v. United States, Case No. 07-361C, Matthew J. Crusan. et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-434C, Shannon M. Garner. et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-525C, Luis A. Carrion, et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-626C, Janice R. Barnes, et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-682C, Maria L. Gilbert. et al. v. United States, Case No. 07-731 C, Claude M. Redd, et

-2-

Case 1:07-cv-00790-ECH

Document 7

Filed 03/03/2008

Page 3 of 6

al. v. U.S., Case No. 07-718C, William J. Salera v. United States, Case No. 07-886C and Kathy L. Federico, et al. v. United States, Case No. 08-44C. c. Bifurcation: The parties agree that the issues of liability and damages should be bifurcated. d. Deferral: The parties agree that this case should not be defen'ed pending resolution of any other cases.
Remand/Suspension: None of the parties seek remand or suspension. Joinder: Counsel do not anticipate joining additional parties. Dispositive Motions: At this time the parties do not intend to file motions pursuant to RCFC 12(b) or 12(c). Relevant Issues: The parties submit that among the major relevant issues presented herein are the

following: 1. Whether plaintiffs, while employed in a non-superviso~2¢ position at DEA,

were employed in a capacity that is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"),29 U.S.C. § 201 et secL., pursuant to the administrative exemption set forth thereunder? 2. In the event plaintiffs prevails on the issue of liability, what are the appropriate

statutes of limitations applicable to plaintiffs' claims?

-3-

Case 1:07-cv-00790-ECH

Document 7

Filed 03/03/2008

Page 4 of 6

3.

In the event plaintiffs prevail on the issue of liability, whether plaintiffs are

entitled to an award of liquidated damages? 4. In the event plaintiffs prevail on the issue of liability, what is the amount of

compensatory damages to which plaintiffs are entitled and are such damages due for driving a Government owned vehicle from home to work and work to home? 5. In the event plaintiffs prevails on the issue of liability, whether plaintiffs are

entitled to interest on their recovery? i. Settlement: The parties believe there is a reasonable likelihood of settlement on the issue of whether certain plaintiffs are exempt from the FLSA as well as a likelihood that the amount of damages due plaintiffs can be resolved. It is unlikely that parties will resolve through settlement whether plaintiffs are entitled to be compensated for driving a Government-owned vehicle from home to work and work to home. j. Trial: The parties currently are unable to predict whether this matter will proceed to trial. k. Electronic case management: There are no special issues regarding electronic case management needs. 1. Additional Information: Appellants' petition for writ of certiorari filed in Stephen S. Adams. et al. v. United States_, No. 70-116 (July 27, 2007), seeking review of the Federal Circuit's March 14, 2007 ruling against the plaintiffs concerning the home-to-work driving issue involved, was denied on January 7, 2008, and appellants are considering what action to take at this time.

-4-

Case 1:07-cv-00790-ECH

Document 7

Filed 03/03/2008

Page 5 of 6

Respectfully submitted, JEFFREY S. BUCHOLTZ Acting Assistant Attorney JULES BERNSTEIN Bernstein & Lipsett, P.C. 1920 L Street, N.W. Suite 303 Washington, D.C. 20036 OF COUNSEL: LINDA LIPSETT Tel: (202) 296-1798 Fax: (202) 296-7220 SHALOM BRILLIANT Senior Trial Counsel Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: (202) 616-8275 Fax: (202) 305-7643 OF COUNSEL: Michael J. Dierberg William Rayel Trial Attorneys Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attorneys for Defendant D~ed: March 3
,2008

JEANNE E. DAVIDSON Director

James & Hoffman, P.C. 1101 17th Street, N.W. Suite 510 Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: (202) 496-0500 Fax: (202) 496-0555 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
Dated: March 3 ,2008

Case 1:07-cv-00790-ECH

Document 7

Filed 03/03/2008

Page 6 of 6

CERTIFICATE OF FILING I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that on this 3rd day of March 2008, a copy of the foregoing "JOINT PRELIMINARY STATUS REPORT" was filed electronically. I understand that notice of this filing will be sent to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system. Parties may access this filing through the Court's system. s/Shalom Brilliant