Cortez v. Nebraska Beef, Inc.

This matter was before the court on the plaintiffs’ Motion to Extend Deadline for Putative Class Members to Join the Collective Action.  Since, it found the Plaintiffs met the requisite good cause showing, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion.

The relevant facts were as follows: “On June 23, 2009, the plaintiffs filed the instant motion to extend the deadline to allow putative class members to join the FLSA claims. The plaintiffs seek an extension from June 9, 2009, to July 31, 2009. The court held a telephone conference with counsel for the parties on June 26, 2009, and scheduled expedited briefing. The plaintiffs state they contacted putative class members during the process of preparing for class certification and learned several putative class members had not received notice of their right to opt-in. The plaintiffs contend the failure was due to the notice packets being sent to old addresses. The plaintiffs show 504 notice packets (14% of the putative class) were returned as undeliverable. Conversely, 416(12%) opt-in consent forms have been received. The plaintiffs propose re-mailing notices to more current addresses and sending a reminder notice to others in an attempt to increase opt-in participation. The plaintiffs argue the defendants will not suffer undue prejudice by this procedure, which would promote the goals of the FLSA. The plaintiffs contend any putative class members who are not allowed to join this lawsuit may file a parallel lawsuit, thus wasting judicial resources.”

The defendants contended that “the plaintiffs have failed to show good cause to extend the expired opt-in deadline. First, the defendants argue the plaintiffs fail to show how (or how many) updated addresses they have received for putative class members, who have not since had an opportunity to opt-in. Second, the defendants contend the plaintiffs have failed to offer a solution for determining updated information. Third, the defendants assert other forms of notice, such as posted and radio notices, were employed to provide notice in the event the mailing was not successful. Finally, the defendants argue there is no justification to extend the deadline for putative class members who did receive the notice by mailing. The defendants contend the extension would prejudice them by allowing otherwise barred claims.

The company providing administrative services for the opt-in process notes it originally received 907 undeliverable class notices, then promptly sent out 803 notices with updated addresses. As of the date of the declaration 403 of the updated notices had been returned as undeliverable, leaving a total of 504 as “truly undeliverable.” Id. The service company described its efforts at obtaining deliverable addresses.

The court found that the plaintiffs demonstrated “good cause for the extension of time (out of time) to allow putative class members to opt-in to the FLSA claims. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 6(b) (excusable neglect); Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(b ) (good cause); Bradford v. DANA Corp., 249 F.3d 807, 809-10 (8th Cir.2001); see also Thorn v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Fla., Inc., 192 F.R.D. 308, 309 (M.D.Fla.2000). The defendants will not suffer unfair prejudice by an extension of time. The defendants failed to show any prejudice. The plaintiffs’ brief extension of time will not delay the resolution of the issues. Although, it is unclear how the plaintiffs would find deliverable addresses for any of the truly undeliverable notices. Similarly, it is unlikely a reminder mailer will generate opt-in responses in the time period requested. It appears the plaintiffs actually seek additional time for known putative plaintiffs to finalize their consents. Under the circumstances, the court finds good cause has been shown for the short extension of the opt-in deadline.” Therefore, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Extend the Opt-in Deadline was extended.