Albanil v. Coast 2 Coast, Inc.

Following an award of summary judgment to the defendants in this case plaintiffs appealed.  Specifically, the court below determined that plaintiffs were exempt from the FLSA’s overtime provisions, pursuant to the so-called Motor Vehicle Act (MCA) exemption.  As discussed here, the plaintiffs disputed the methodology used to calculate the gross vehicle weight of the vehicles they drove for defendants and subsequently, whether same qualified as “commercial motor vehicles” under the motor carrier act.  Affirming the court below, the Fifth Circuit held that the weight of both the pickup truck hauling the trailer and the trailer itself must be considered together in calculating the gross vehicle weight.  Here, since the weight of the vehicle, when added to the trailer was over 10,000 pounds (and the nature of plaintiffs’ interstate driving was undisputed), the Fifth Circuit affirmed the holding below.

Discussing this issue the Fifth Circuit reasoned:

“The first issue on appeal is whether the Motor Carrier Act (“MCA”) exemption to the FLSA’s overtime requirements applies. Appellants challenge the district court’s conclusion that it does. This issue involves determining whether C2C operated “commercial motor vehicles” during the relevant time period. A “commercial motor vehicle” is defined by statute as a “self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property, if the vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds, whichever is greater” or meets certain other criteria not relevant here. The parties dispute whether the weight of the pickup truck and the trailer may be combined to reach the 10,001 pound threshold, as stated in a Department of Transportation regulation, or whether the use of the disjunctive “or” in the statutory definition requires them to be considered separately. We hold that the district court correctly combined the weights of the pickup and trailer to conclude that the MCA exemption applies, and that summary judgment was appropriate on Plaintiffs’ overtime claims.”

Also addressed in the opinion, but not discussed here at length, the Fifth Circuit reversed the trial court’s sua sponte order granting defendants summary judgment on plaintiffs’ minimum wage allegation– an issue no party briefed in their papers.  The appellate court reasoned that such a sua sponte order denied plaintiffs the fair opportunity to address the issues.

Click Albanil v. Coast 2 Coast, Inc. to read the entire Opinion.