ORDER JAMES E. GRITZNER, District Judge. Now before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion to Strike and Objections to Evidence Offered in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Defendant Dolgencorp, LLC (Defendant or Dolgencorp or Dollar General). Plaintiff Melvin Ely (Plaintiff or Ely), previously employed by Dolgencorp as a store manager, alleges entitlement to overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Defendant counters that...
ORDER J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. Without objection, defendants' motion to extend the motion deadline is GRANTED. Document #16. The motion deadline is extended up to and including January 5, 2012. IT IS SO ORDERED.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. Most lawsuits are brought by persons who believe that their rights have been violated. Not this one. The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice brings this action on behalf of the United States of America against the State of Arkansas and four state officials in their official capacities alleging that practices at Conway Human Development Center violate the rights of its residents guaranteed by the Fourteenth...
OPINION AND ORDER J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. This is a Social Security disability appeal in which the Court found that the administrative law judge committed error and remanded under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g). The plaintiff has filed a petition for attorney's fees pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. 2412. She requests a fee in the amount of $8,411.77, calculated on the basis of 46.25 hours multiplied by $181.88 per hour. She bases that hourly rate on the...
OPINION AND ORDER J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. This is an ERISA action in which Bobby Gene Hankins seeks to recover benefits under the long-term disability plan offered by his former employer, Stephens Inc., through Standard Insurance Company. The parties have submitted an administrative record and briefed the issues, so the case is ripe for decision. For the following reasons, Standard's decision to deny Hankins' claim for long-term disability benefits is affirmed. I. In April 2002,...
ORDER BILLY ROY WILSON, District Judge. Now before the Court is the motion of Plaintiff requesting leave for out-of-state attorneys Edward M. Fox and Julie O. Herrera to appear pro hac vice in this case. For good cause shown, the motion [docket entry #44] is GRANTED. Attorneys Edward M. Fox and Julie O. Herrera are hereby admitted to the bar of this Court for the purpose of appearing in this case as additional counsel for Plaintiff. IT IS SO ORDERED.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) brings this action against Crye-Leike, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Crye-Leike of Arkansas, Inc. d/b/a Bankers Asset Management (collectively, Crye-Leike), pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1981a and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., to redress alleged discrimination on the basis of race (black) and retaliation. The EEOC claims that...
OPINION AND ORDER J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. The parties have filed cross motions for partial summary judgment in the related cases of Helmert v. Butterball, No. 4:08CV00342 JLH, and Garner v. Butterball, No. 4:10CV01025 JLH. For the following reasons, the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment is granted in part, and the defendants' motion for partial summary judgment is denied. I. A court should enter summary judgment if the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable...
Memorandum Opinion and Order SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge. Before the Court is defendants' motion for summary judgment to which plaintiffs responded. Defendants filed a reply to the response. For the reasons stated below, the motion is granted. Background 1 Separate Plaintiff Michelle Bonds filed a class action complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 against defendants on April 30, 2008, alleging race discrimination in connection with recommendations of the Little Rock School...
Memorandum Opinion and Order SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge. Plaintiffs are nineteen African Americans who work in the Maintenance and Operations Department ("MOD") of the Little Rock School District ("LRSD"). They claim to have been discriminated against on the basis of race over a long period of time, including within the past four years of the filing of their complaint. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims of eighteen of the plaintiffs for failure to state a claim....
ORDER BRIAN S. MILLER, District Judge. Now before the Court is a Joint Stipulation for Dismissal filed by various parties to this interpleader action. Those parties represent that they have reached a full settlement over claims to funds held in an account at Bank of the Ozarks, account number 2030002766. For good cause shown, the Court Orders: 1. Bank of the Ozarks to disburse the full balance of Account 2030002766 to Vigilante Committee Condominio Residencial BVG Ixtapa, A.C. and their...
OPINION AND ORDER J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. The City of North Little Rock, Arkansas, commenced this action in the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, seeking to acquire an easement on railroad property for a pedestrian and bicycle trail through the power of eminent domain. The defendants removed the action to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1441. Subsequently, Arkansas Midland Railroad Company filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Fed....
JUDGMENT D.P. MARSHALL Jr., District Judge. The United States of America has applied for a default judgment in rem foreclosing the right, title, and interest Separate Defendants Raymond Gilmore and Leeaner Gilmore, and their spouses, if any, may have or claim in and to real property in Lee County, Arkansas (as described below) together with affidavits that the Gilmores are neither infants, incompetent persons, nor serving in the United States military. The Gilmores, after having been...
Memorandum Opinion and Order SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge. Before the Court is plaintiff's oral motion for reconsideration of subject matter jurisdiction. The Court has reviewed the parties' briefs as well as the pertinent record in the case and finds that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Background This case involves a dispute over the payment of benefits under a group long term disability insurance policy issued by defendant USAble Life ("USAble") to plaintiff's...
ORDER BRIAN S. MILLER, District Judge. Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond Fund ("Nuveen") moves to dismiss, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the complaint for declaratory judgment brought by Crews & Associates ("Crews"). Crews objects, and Nuveen replied. The parties' briefs were throughly researched and well-written, and a hearing was conducted during which both parties vigorously argued their positions. For the reasons set forth below, Nuveen's motion to dismiss is granted in part...
ORDER BRIAN S. MILLER, District Judge. Plaintiff Southeast Arkansas Hospice, Inc., (SEARK) filed this case against defendant Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), seeking to invalidate the Secretary's regulation implementing a statutory cap on Medicare payments to hospice-care providers. Four motions are pending: (1) the Secretary's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction [Doc. No. 17]; (2) the Secretary's...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge. Plaintiffs LasikPlus Murphy, M.D., P.A. (LasikPlus Murphy), and David Murphy, M.D. (Dr. Murphy), individually, bring this action against defendant LCA-Vision, Inc. (LCA) for alleged breach of contract, alleged breach of fiduciary duty, and other alleged tortious and criminal conduct. Before the Court is LCA's initial partial motion to dismiss plaintiffs' complaint [doc. # 7], which this Court deems as concerning and applying to...
STIPULATED ORDER OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. Plaintiff, the United States of America ("United States"), has filed a Complaint for Permanent Injunction and Other Relief in this matter against defendant Betty J. Foster, individually, and doing business as Fosters Income Tax Service ("Foster" or "defendant"). Foster has consented to entry of this Stipulated Order of Permanent Injunction, and waives the entry of findings of fact and conclusions of law. Defendant...
OPINION AND ORDER J. LEON HOLMES, District Judge. Hilda Buckley commenced this action against the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees alleging that her employment with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences was terminated in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. 623(a). The University has moved to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on...
ORDER BILLY ROY WILSON, District Judge. Pending is Relators' Motion for Determination of Relators' Share of Settlement Proceeds (Doc. No. 102). The Government has responded, 1 and Relators have replied. 2 The Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, as set out below. I. BACKGROUND A. Procedural History Norman Rille and Neal Roberts ("Relators") filed this qui tam action, along with several others, on September 17, 2004. 3 Their Second Amended Complaint brought claims on behalf...
