Civ. No. 731-S.D | D.S.D. | Jan 30, 1952
By the above entitled action the plaintiff, as Secretary of Labor, seeks to enjoin the defendant from certain violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., and regulations promulgated thereunder.
There appears to be no material dispute as to the essential facts of the case which,
This action was instituted on August 6, 1951, and no investigation other than that made by the plaintiff in June, 1951, has been made.
The plaintiff contends that even if the defendant has conducted its business in compliance with the laws and regulations of the government since the 1st of July, 1951, the fact that the defendant contended then and still contends that it is not engaged in interstate commerce and that its business does not come within the purview of the Fair Labor Standards Act or the Wage and Hour law or regulations above referred to, is sufficient ground for the granting of the injunction prayed for. With this contention I am unable to agree. Injunction has always been regarded as a drastic and extraordinary remedy to be granted or denied in the sound discretion of the Court. It is an equitable writ and should be resorted to only for the purpose of preventing future wrong. Whether or not a prayer for injunction is granted or denied must depend upon the facts and circumstances of each separate case. It is undoubtedly true that under certain facts and conditions the refusal on the part of the defendant to admit that its operations are such as come within the contemplation of the law might be a circumstance strongly indicating a real danger of future violation, but where the defendant has no intention of violating the law, and where the failure to comply with its provisions is prompted solely by a good faith understanding and opinion that its business activities are not such as to be subject to the law, and where
There is nothing in the evidence that indicates that the defendant knowingly intended to violate the law or -regulations of the United States, and its failure to comply with the regulations and the law prior to the investigation above referred to, appears to have been prompted solely by the sincere, good faith opinion and assumption that the conduct of its business was not such as to make it subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act, or the Wage and Hour provisions. That the defendant should 'honestly entertain such an opinion is not at all unusual. The facts are that the original interpretation of the scope and meaning of the commerce clause has been enlarged and extended by the acts of Congress and the courts until experienced lawyers are frequently at a loss to know just what does and does not affect the flow of interstate commerce.
In view of the record I am convinced that the defendant’s failure to conduct its business in conformity with the Fair Labor Standards Act and regulations in this case, and its contention that said laws and -regulations do not apply to its business, afford no grounds for apprehension of any future violations, and in view of the fact that notwithstanding its good faith belief that it was not legally required to do so, and had corrected the irregularities when it was informed of the contentions of the plaintiff, and its business has been conducted in conformity with said laws and regulations since the 1st of July, 1951.
While I am convinced that the conduct of defendant’s -business is such as to make it subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and that the irregularities complained of were in violation thereof, I am firmly of the opinion that there was no intention on the part of the defendant to violate said Act, and that there is no rational probability or danger of any future recurrence of the same. Hence, the plaintiff’s prayer for injunction should be and is denied.