Sloan v. Ameristar Casinos, Inc. et al
Filing
77
ORDER granting in part and denying in part 72 Motion to Stay. By Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya on 3/18/13. (kfinn, )
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya
Civil Action No. 12–cv–01126–MSK–KMT
LEANNE SLOAN, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated,
Plaintiff,
v.
AMERISTAR CASINOS, INC., and
AMERISTAR CASINO BLACK HAWK, INC.,
Defendants.
ORDER
This matter is before the court on “Defendants’ Motion to Magistrate Judge Seeking Stay
of Minute Order of February 26, 2013” [Doc. No. 72] filed March 12, 2013.
On February 26, 2013, this court considered argument regarding “Plaintiff’s Motion for
Sanctions Against Defendants for Coercion of Putative Collective Action Members” [Doc. No.
60] which had been fully briefed by the parties. (See Minutes, February 26, 2013 [Doc. No. 68]
[“Minutes”].) At the heart of the controversy was a letter that had been sent by the COO of
Ameristar, Larry Hodges, to putative class members who were former employees of Defendants.
The court issued an oral ruling1 granting the Plaintiff’s motion and finding that the letter from
Mr. Hodges was misleading, coercive and was a blatant attempt to undermine the purposes of a
1
The transcript of the hearing has been filed as Doc. No. 75.
collective action and to undermine the Notice approved by the court. Further the court found
that Defendants intentionally intended to frighten and dissuade former employee putative class
members from joining the class. (Minutes at 2-3.) This court imposed a number of sanctions
against Defendants including that putative class members who received the offending letter
would receive a letter of apology from Mr. Hodges and that a corrective notice be sent to all
putative class members extending the opt-in period by 45 days after the corrective notice is sent.
The court also imposed a monetary penalty against Defendants designed to lessen the potential
that any class member would be responsible for Defendants’ costs if Defendants should prevail
in the litigation.
“Defendants’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b) Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Order of February
26, 2013” [Doc. No. 70] was filed on March 12, 2013. Defendants’ present motion seeks to stay
the court’s order imposing sanctions, pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCivR 30.2A , until Chief Judge
Marcia S. Krieger rules on these objections.
The power to stay proceedings, especially as to ramifications of its own orders, is
incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the cases on its
docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants. How this can
best be done calls for the exercise of judgment, which must weigh competing interests and
maintain an even balance. Kansas City Southern Ry. Co. v. United States, 282 U.S. 760, 763
(1931).
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure do not expressly provide for a stay of proceedings.
See String Cheese Incident, LLC v. Stylus Shows, Inc., No. 02-cv-01934-LTB-PAC, 2006 WL
2
894955, at *2 (D. Colo. March 30, 2006) (unpublished). Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) does, however,
provide
A party or any person from whom discovery is sought may move for a protective
order in the court where the action is pending . . . . The court may, for good cause,
issue an order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment,
oppression, or undue burden or expense . . . .
Id. This court, when considering a stay, particularly one directed at discovery, may consider and
weigh: “(1) plaintiff’s interests in proceeding expeditiously with the civil action and the potential
prejudice to plaintiff of a delay; (2) the burden on the defendants; (3) the convenience to the
court; (4) the interests of persons not parties to the civil litigation; and (5) the public interest.”
Id. (quoting FDIC v. Renda, No. 85-2216-O, 1987 WL 348635, at *2 (D. Kan. Aug. 6, 1987)
(unpublished)).
Obviously, the court disagrees with the objections of Defendants. At this point in the
case there are zero opt-in plaintiffs, even considering that a number of the former employees
who received Mr. Hodges’ letter were fired by Ameristar. At least that portion of the putative
class who received Mr. Hodges’ letter were misinformed about the case, the plaintiff, the
plaintiff’s motives, the law and about any negative monetary ramifications of the case on opt-in
plaintiffs. Since the court’s sanctions include further communications to the putative class, it is
imperative that all the putative class members receive correct information moving forward.
Therefore, it is in the best interests of not only the current parties, but of the putative class
members as well, that the matters upon which this court ruled in its February 26, 2013 Order, are
resolved with finality before any further communications with the class are made. A delay in the
3
imposition of the sanctions, with one exception, will not prejudice Plaintiff unduly since Mr.
Hodges’ letter has destroyed the class absent further action by the court. Any stay, however,
must be imposed on the case as a whole, not just on the imposition of sanctions, since it is this
court’s finding that until a corrective notice, at least, is sent to the putative class, the case is
stalled. The delay caused by a stay will impact the public to some extent because Defendants
maintain that its allegedly wrongful way of compensating casino hosts is the standard in the
nation. Thus, if Defendants are found to be in violation of the FLSA, such a ruling could have
wide affect on the casino industry. However, given the importance of future communications
with the putative class being correct, this consideration outweighs any negative impact on the
court and the public interest.
Given the conduct of Defendants in sending the offending letter, however, this court will
not stay its Order with respect to the following
Defendants and their representatives are therefore enjoined from having any ex
parte communications with any absent class members, employees or
non-employees, regarding this action until the end of this litigation. This
restriction pertains only to communications regarding this litigation and will not
interfere with the proper functioning of Ameristar, the casino hosts, and their job
functions.
(Minutes at 3.) This court found, “[c]ommunications by the Defendants to putative class
members no longer employed by Ameristar was deceitful and designed to thwart the proper
functioning of this lawsuit, which it accomplished.” Id. This showing having been made,
pursuant to Gulf Oil Co. v. Bernard, 452 U.S. 89, 100-101 (1981), it is proper and appropriate to
4
limit communications between Defendants and putative class members to avoid further potential
for abuse.
It is therefore ORDERED
“Defendants’ Motion to Magistrate Judge Seeking Stay of Minute Order of February 26,
2013” [Doc. No. 72] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as follows:
1.
The request for stay is DENIED as to the portion of this court’s February 26,
2013 Order prohibiting Defendants and their representatives from communicating with any
putative class member about this litigation until the end of the case. The Defendants shall
remain bound by this provision of the February 26, 2013 Order unless a contrary order is issued
by Chief District Judge Marcia S. Krieger;
2.
The request for stay is GRANTED as to all other issues and sanctions imposed
by this court’s February 26, 2013 Order;
3.
All discovery in the case is STAYED and all deadlines are hereby VACATED
until a ruling on “Defendants’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b) Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Order of
February 26, 2013” [Doc. No. 70] is rendered by Chief District Court Judge Marcia S. Krieger.
It is further ORDERED
The parties shall file a status report within five business days of a ruling by Judge Krieger
on “Defendants’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b) Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Order of February 26,
2013” addressing the need for further scheduling. The parties shall propose mutually agreeable
5
dates and times for the court to conduct a continued Scheduling Conference/Status Conference
no later than 30 days subsequent to Judge Krieger’s ruling.
Dated this 18th day of March, 2013.
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