Treadway v. Bluestone Coal Corp., 5:16-cv-12149

Plaintiffs (employees at Burke Mountain Strip Mine) allege staggered layoffs beginning Dec. 28, 2011 through Mar. 2, 2012 without the written notice required by the WARN Act and that employees were off work for more than six months.
Plaintiffs sued Mechel Bluestone, Bluestone Coal Corp., and Bluestone Industries as joint employers and brought a putative class action under the WARN Act.
Defendants moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim and, alternatively, for a more definite statement under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e), arguing vagueness about corporate roles and that the claims are time-barred.
Plaintiffs opposed, asserting the complaint met Rule 8 and that WARN claims in West Virginia are governed by a five-year statute of limitations.
The court declined to consider exhibits submitted with the response because they were not integral to the complaint, treated factual allegations as true for purposes of the motion, and denied both the Rule 12(e) and 12(b)(6) relief.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether complaint should be dismissed for vagueness and a more definite statement required	Complaint sufficiently pleads joint-employer status and is clear enough to permit a response	Allegations about corporate relationships and which defendant did what are vague and ambiguous	Denied — allegations meet Rule 8 and are answerable; discovery can supply details
Whether WARN Act claims are time-barred	WARN claims in WV borrow the five-year contractual statute of limitations (WV Wage Payment & Collection Act) so suit is timely	A two-year statute (personal injury/wrongful discharge analog) should apply, making suit untimely	Denied — five-year WV statute (WVWPCA analog) governs WARN claims in WV, complaint timely

North Star Steel Co. v. Thomas, 515 U.S. 29 (1995) (federal WARN Act contains no limitations period; courts borrow most closely analogous state statute)
Bell v. Philips Electronics N.V. of the Netherlands, 897 F. Supp. 938 (N.D.W. Va. 1995) (applying WV five-year WVWPCA limitations period to WARN claim)
Hodgson v. Virginia Baptist Hosp., Inc., 482 F.2d 821 (4th Cir. 1973) (standard for Rule 12(e) motions; deny when complaint satisfies Rule 8)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) (pleading standards; legal conclusions not presumed true)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) (plausibility pleading standard)
Francis v. Giacomelli, 588 F.3d 186 (4th Cir. 2009) (application of Twombly/Iqbal in Fourth Circuit)
Luczkovich v. Melville Corp., 911 F. Supp. 208 (E.D. Va. 1996) (discussing appropriate state limitation analog for WARN claims in Virginia)