Chipotle Lawsuit Update

On November 15, 2012, Plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that Chipotle violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Minimum Wage Act. On June 6, 2014, the Court held that the Defendants were not entitled to individualized discovery from each opt-in plaintiff as a matter of law. Scott v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., No. 12-cv-08333, (S.D.N.Y. June 6, 2014). While Chipotle argued that limited or representational discovery would harm their defense, the Court held that in class action cases, the Plaintiffs are able to present the testimony of a representative sample of employees as proof of a prima facie case.

Although Chipotle will be allowed to depose 10% of the opt-in plaintiffs, the Court denied Chipotle’s request to seek written discovery including names of supervisors, work schedules, performance reviews, and bonus compensation information from each individual opt-in plaintiff. The Court stated that this request would be unduly burdensome, finding that Chipotle should be in possession of much of the information they are requesting. In addition, the Court found that the information sought from the opt-in plaintiffs would be based on their own memories and is likely be less reliable than the records maintained by Chipotle. The Court held that representative sampling was an appropriate method of discovery in this case and granted the Plaintiffs’ request to limit written discovery to the opt-in plaintiffs to be deposed.

The lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer, LLP believe this decision will be essential in cases where Plaintiffs seek to limit discovery, specifically when the burden outweighs the benefits of discovery or in cases such as this one, where discovery may be efficiently obtained from another source. For more information about the Chipotle case, please visit our current cases section at www.fslawfirm.com or chipotleclassactionlawsuit.com.