On April 29, a KFC owner and franchise manager were denied their motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an employee who claims she wasn’t paid overtime hours worked.
U.S. District Judge Tom Barber of the Middle District of Florida’s Fort Myers Division disagreed with owner James P. Gyrmathy and manager Ron Phillips in their arguments that plaintiff Candie Whitehurst, who sued on behalf of herself and others, filed a shotgun lawsuit, and that she didn’t properly state her Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claim.
While the defendants Gyrmathy and Phillips said the case should be dismissed because it only listed one action against each of the defendants, Judge Barber sided with Whitehurst, who said their “argument lacks merit because nothing in the pleading rules prohibits lodging the same claim against multiple defendants if they are alleged to have participated in the same acts rising to the claim,” Barber wrote.
The court also disagreed with the defendants that Whitehurst didn’t state a FLSA claim. Judge Barber ruled that Whitehurst’s claims that each of the defendants served as her employer based on the FLSA (because Gyrmathy and Phillips each oversaw the company daily, fired and hired workers, and managed the finances among other things), was sufficient.
“While defendants may ultimately prevail at establishing otherwise, at this point, the court must accept Whitehurst’s allegations as true,” wrote Judge Barber.
They have until May 14 to respond to the order.