Employment – Misclassification – Claim preclusion

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Where six plaintiffs have alleged that the defendants violated Massachusetts law by misclassifying employees as independent contractors and by failing to make minimum wage and overtime payments, the complaint must be dismissed to the extent that it is asserted by two plaintiffs who failed to raise their claims when they opted into a prior federal suit in New York.

“[Defendant] Credico moved to dismiss all claims against it on the ground that [plaintiffs] Misra and [Craig] Levine had opted into a prior federal lawsuit in New York, joining in a collective action asserting similar claims against Credico under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (the ‘FLSA’). …

“The Court will allow the motion to the extent that it seeks dismissal of the claims by Misra and Levin. Those claims are barred by the doctrine of claim preclusion because they could have been asserted in the prior FLSA lawsuit, it is not clear that the federal court would have declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over those claims, and final judgment has now entered in that prior case. The Court will deny the motion to dismiss with respect to the claims asserted by [plaintiffs Juan] Melo, [Justin] Jackson, [Jacqueline] Sill, or [Lee] Tremblay, on behalf of themselves and other putative class members who did not opt into the prior action. …

“As full-fledged plaintiffs, with the same status as the named plaintiffs, Misra and Levine had the opportunity to seek leave to assert Massachusetts law claims against Credico in Vasto [v. Credico (USA) LLC, 15CV9298 (PAE)]. And they had every incentive to do so, if their Massachusetts claims differed materially from the FLSA claims. As explained above, federal judges often grant leave for plaintiffs who have opted into an FLSA collective action to add similar claims under state law, and even to seek class certification for those additional claims. …”

Misra, et al. v. Credico (USA) LLC, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-091-18) (9 pages) (Salinger, J.) (Suffolk Superior Court) (Docket No. 1784CV02731-BLS2) (July 24, 2018).