Betts v. Cent. Ohio Gaming Ventures, LLC
351 F. Supp. 3d 1072
S.D. Ohio2019Background
- Plaintiffs sued under the FLSA in April 2016 alleging unpaid overtime and moved for conditional collective certification on May 3, 2016.
- The parties agreed to several tolling periods totaling 112 days during briefing/extensions; defendant filed its opposition on September 2, 2016.
- The court granted conditional certification on January 5, 2018; notice issued February 28, 2018; opt-in deadline was April 14, 2018, with over 150 opt-ins.
- Plaintiffs moved to equitably toll the statute of limitations for opt-in plaintiffs for the period May 3, 2016 through April 14, 2018 (less prior agreed tolling).
- The court analyzed whether excessive court delay in ruling on the certification motion warranted equitable tolling for the opt-in plaintiffs.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether equitable tolling may be applied group-wide to opt-in FLSA plaintiffs | Toll limitations should be tolled for the collective from motion filing through end of notice because court delay prevented timely opt-ins | Group-wide tolling is improper; equitable tolling requires individual, case-by-case Truitt factor analysis | Court allowed group tolling here because conditional certification had been granted and opt-ins existed; declined to require separate hearings for each opt-in |
| Whether court delay in ruling on conditional certification is an "extraordinary circumstance" justifying tolling | The ~16-month delay (473 days ripe) was excessive and beyond plaintiffs' control, so tolling is warranted | Delay does not justify tolling of the full period sought; parties had agreed to some tolling already | Court found the delay excessive; established a 6-month reasonable window to rule on a ripe motion and tolled time exceeding that period |
| Proper tolling period to grant | Plaintiffs sought tolling from May 3, 2016 to April 14, 2018 (minus agreed 112 days) | Defendant urged narrower or no additional tolling beyond agreed periods | Court tolled from March 19, 2017 (six months after the motion became ripe) through January 5, 2018 (date of conditional certification): 292 days, plus prior agreed tolling |
| Whether tolling should extend through the opt-in period after notice | Plaintiffs sought tolling through April 14, 2018 | Defendant opposed extending tolling past certification/notice absent special circumstances | Court refused to toll the post-certification opt-in period absent extenuating circumstances; limited tolling to pre-certification delay period |
Key Cases Cited
- Viciedo v. New Horizons Comput. Learning Ctr. of Columbus, Ltd., 246 F. Supp. 2d 886 (S.D. Ohio 2003) (each unpaid paycheck creates a new FLSA claim)
- Truitt v. County of Wayne, 148 F.3d 644 (6th Cir. 1998) (five-factor equitable tolling framework; tolling is case-specific)
- Amini v. Oberlin College, 259 F.3d 493 (6th Cir. 2001) (equitable tolling is granted sparingly in the Sixth Circuit)
- Robertson v. Simpson, 624 F.3d 781 (6th Cir. 2010) (plaintiff bears burden to justify equitable tolling)
- Allen v. Yukins, 366 F.3d 396 (6th Cir. 2004) (additional equitable tolling considerations; context-specific analysis)
- Baden-Winterwood v. Life Time Fitness, 484 F. Supp. 2d 822 (S.D. Ohio 2007) (recognizing courts may equitably toll FLSA limitations)
- Jackson v. Bloomberg, L.P., 298 F.R.D. 152 (S.D.N.Y. 2014) (court delay can be an extraordinary circumstance justifying tolling)
- Bergman v. Kindred Healthcare, Inc., 949 F. Supp. 2d 852 (N.D. Ill. 2013) (excessive court delay may warrant tolling to avoid penalizing plaintiffs for docket delays)