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A Virginia District Court has denied conditional certification of a class of chauffeurs in claims for unpaid overtime and has also recognized the application of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), to the calculation of damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act.&nbsp; In <a href="https://employmentclassactionreport.bakerhostetlerblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2013/08/chaufe.pdf">Amir v. Sunny&rsquo;s Executive Sedan Service, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:13-cv-161 (E.D. Va., July 30, 2013)</a>, the plaintiffs were chauffeurs working in the Washington D.C. area who claimed that they were denied overtime and minimum.&nbsp; They sought to represent a class of approximately 50 chauffeurs performing services for the company.&nbsp; Some worked as independent contractors.&nbsp; Some were paid by commission, while others were paid under other arrangements including, at times, hourly rates.&nbsp; Given the difference in pay structures, the court found that the claims would &ldquo;necessitate individual factual inquiries and defenses which are inappropriate to resolve as a class.&rdquo;&nbsp; It thus found that the plaintiffs were not similarly situated and that due to reasons of &ldquo;judicial economy&rdquo; even conditional certification was not appropriate.&nbsp; Interestingly, the court also found that the case could not be resolved on a class basis due to the difficulty in calculating damages.&nbsp; Citing the Dukes case, the court found that &ldquo;Trial by Formula&rdquo; was not appropriate and that the case could not be resolved on either liability or damages without an individual inquiry.&nbsp; Finding a lack of similarly situated claims and difficulties with resolving the case on a class-wide basis under Dukes, the court denied conditional certification.&nbsp; While the decision denying conditional certification itself was worthy of note, this additional reason, recognizing Dukes&rsquo; application in the conditional certification was particularly significant. The Bottom Line:&nbsp;&nbsp; Some courts will consider judicial economy and practical issues of case management even at the conditional certification stage.

Virginia District Court Denies Conditional Certification of FLSA Case