MEMPHIS, TN--(Marketwire - February 10, 2011) - On February 7, 2011, Judge Donald of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Tennessee denied motions for summary judgment and decertification brought by the Defendants in Monroe, et al. v. FTS USA, LLC, and UniTek USA, LLC, 2:08-cv-2100, setting the stage for a jury trial. In the case, approximately 300 cable installation workers who worked for FTS and/or UniTek in locations across the country claim they were denied overtime pay when they worked more than forty hours in a workweek. The cable installers seek to recover their unpaid overtime wages, attorneys' fees and costs, and liquidated damages.
The Court's order rejected the Defendants' attempt to dismiss the case. Specifically, the Court rejected the Defendants' argument that the cable installers did not have sufficient evidence to prove the number of overtime hours they worked at trial. Rather, the Court held that trial on a representational basis was appropriate, and that the cable installers' own estimates of their overtime hours was sufficient evidence for the jury to award damages. The Court also denied the Defendants' request to decertify the case, holding that it would be unfair, expensive, time-consuming and procedurally difficult to conduct a jury trial for each of the 300 cable installers, and that "the differences among Plaintiffs' individual claims are not so great as to predominate over the ways that their claims are similar or to outweigh the benefits of proceeding on the Plaintiffs' claims [as] a collective action... " The Court has not set a trial date.
The Plaintiffs are represented by Donald H. Nichols, Paul J. Lukas, Rachhana T. Srey, and Robert L. Schug of Nichols Kaster, PLLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Donald A. Donati and William B. Ryan of Donati Law Firm, LLP in Memphis, Tennessee. Individuals may find additional information about the lawsuit at www.nka.com or by calling Nichols Kaster toll free at (877) 448-0492 or Donati Law Firm toll free at (800) 521-0578.