137 Cited authorities

Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (2009) Cited 253,227 times 279 Legal Analyses
Holding that a claim is plausible where a plaintiff's allegations enable the court to draw a "reasonable inference" the defendant is liable
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (2007) Cited 267,097 times 365 Legal Analyses
Holding that a complaint's allegations should "contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face' "
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (1986) Cited 236,388 times 38 Legal Analyses
Holding that summary judgment is not appropriate if "the dispute about a material fact is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party"
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett
477 U.S. 317 (1986) Cited 216,459 times 40 Legal Analyses
Holding that a movant's summary judgment motion should be granted "against a [nonmovant] who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial"
Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc.
530 U.S. 133 (2000) Cited 21,110 times 22 Legal Analyses
Holding that, since the 58-year-old plaintiff was fired by his 60-year-old employer, there was an inference that "age discrimination was not the motive"
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes
564 U.S. 338 (2011) Cited 6,646 times 505 Legal Analyses
Holding in Rule 23 context that “[w]ithout some glue holding the alleged reasons for all those decisions together, it will be impossible to say that examination of all the class members' claims for relief will produce a common answer”
Tex. Dept. of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine
450 U.S. 248 (1981) Cited 19,955 times 9 Legal Analyses
Holding in the Title VII context that the plaintiff's prima facie case creates "a legally mandatory, rebuttable presumption" that shifts the burden of proof to the employer, and "if the employer is silent in the face of the presumption, the court must enter judgment for the plaintiff"
Foman v. Davis
371 U.S. 178 (1962) Cited 28,667 times 4 Legal Analyses
Holding that an appeal was improperly dismissed when the record as a whole — including a timely but incomplete notice of appeal and a premature but complete notice — revealed the orders petitioner sought to appeal
Phillips v. County of Allegheny
515 F.3d 224 (3d Cir. 2008) Cited 16,859 times 2 Legal Analyses
Holding that a district court need not permit a curative amendment if such amendment would be futile
Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk
569 U.S. 66 (2013) Cited 1,618 times 97 Legal Analyses
Holding that a case is moot if "an intervening circumstance deprives the plaintiff of a personal stake in the outcome of the lawsuit"
Rule 12 - Defenses and Objections: When and How Presented; Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings; Consolidating Motions; Waiving Defenses; Pretrial Hearing
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 Cited 346,412 times 923 Legal Analyses
Granting the court discretion to exclude matters outside the pleadings presented to the court in defense of a motion to dismiss
Rule 56 - Summary Judgment
Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 Cited 328,986 times 158 Legal Analyses
Holding a party may move for summary judgment on any part of any claim or defense in the lawsuit
Rule 15 - Amended and Supplemental Pleadings
Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 Cited 90,683 times 91 Legal Analyses
Finding that, per N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1024, New York law provides a more forgiving principle for relation back in the context of naming John Doe defendants described with particularity in the complaint
Section 1981 - Equal rights under the law
42 U.S.C. § 1981 Cited 37,910 times 237 Legal Analyses
Granting equal rights to "make and enforce contracts" without regard to race
Rule 23 - Class Actions
Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 Cited 34,974 times 1236 Legal Analyses
Holding that, to certify a class, the court must find that "questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members"
Section 2000e-2 - Unlawful employment practices
42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 Cited 28,306 times 171 Legal Analyses
Adopting case law prior to June 4, 1989, “with respect to the concept of ‘alternative employment practice’ ”
Section 216 - Penalties
29 U.S.C. § 216 Cited 16,393 times 140 Legal Analyses
Holding employers liable for “unpaid minimum wages, or their unpaid overtime compensation”
Section 206 - Minimum wage
29 U.S.C. § 206 Cited 8,824 times 99 Legal Analyses
Asking only whether the alleged inequality resulted from “any other factor other than sex”
Section 213 - Exemptions
29 U.S.C. § 213 Cited 4,609 times 253 Legal Analyses
Exempting salaried employees from the FLSA's overtime pay requirement
Section 255 - Statute of limitations
29 U.S.C. § 255 Cited 4,539 times 8 Legal Analyses
Recognizing that not all FLSA wage and overtime claims are willful
Section 1620.13 - "Equal Work"-What it means
29 C.F.R. § 1620.13 Cited 124 times
Recognizing that application of the equal pay standard is a fact-intensive inquiry that must be determined on a case-by-case basis
Section 1620.14 - Testing equality of jobs
29 C.F.R. § 1620.14 Cited 92 times
Explaining that the requirements of substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility are separate tests, each of which must be met
Section 1620.15 - Jobs requiring equal skill in performance
29 C.F.R. § 1620.15 Cited 78 times
Discussing ability as a subfactor of skill
Section 1620.17 - Jobs requiring equal responsibility in performance
29 C.F.R. § 1620.17 Cited 58 times
Stating that "payment of a higher rate" to an employee who has "additional degree of responsibility which may materially affect the business operations of the employer" is permissible
Section 1620.9 - Meaning of "establishment."
29 C.F.R. § 1620.9 Cited 56 times
Stating that “each physically separate place of business is ordinarily considered a separate establishment”
Section 1620.10 - Meaning of "wages."
29 C.F.R. § 1620.10 Cited 53 times 1 Legal Analyses
Defining "wages"
Section 1620.16 - Jobs requiring equal effort in performance
29 C.F.R. § 1620.16 Cited 38 times
Stating that "[w]here substantial differences exist in the amount or degree of effort required to be expended in the performance of jobs, the equal pay standard cannot apply even though the jobs may be equal in all other respects"
Section 779.23 - Establishment
29 C.F.R. § 779.23 Cited 37 times 8 Legal Analyses
Defining "establishment," for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act as a "`distinct physical place of business' . . . consistent with the meaning of the term as it is normally used in business and in government. . . ."
Section 779.303 - "Establishment" defined; distinguished from "enterprise" and "business."
29 C.F.R. § 779.303 Cited 15 times 3 Legal Analyses
Distinguishing establishments from the enterprises that control them

Finefrock et al v. Five Guys Operations, Llc

137 Cited authorities

Holding that a claim is plausible where a plaintiff's allegations enable the court to draw a "reasonable inference" the defendant is liable

Holding that a complaint's allegations should "contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face' "

Holding that summary judgment is not appropriate if "the dispute about a material fact is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party"

Holding that a movant's summary judgment motion should be granted "against a [nonmovant] who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial"

Holding that, since the 58-year-old plaintiff was fired by his 60-year-old employer, there was an inference that "age discrimination was not the motive"

Holding in Rule 23 context that “[w]ithout some glue holding the alleged reasons for all those decisions together, it will be impossible to say that examination of all the class members' claims for relief will produce a common answer”

Holding in the Title VII context that the plaintiff's prima facie case creates "a legally mandatory, rebuttable presumption" that shifts the burden of proof to the employer, and "if the employer is silent in the face of the presumption, the court must enter judgment for the plaintiff"

Holding that an appeal was improperly dismissed when the record as a whole — including a timely but incomplete notice of appeal and a premature but complete notice — revealed the orders petitioner sought to appeal

Holding that a district court need not permit a curative amendment if such amendment would be futile

Holding that a case is moot if "an intervening circumstance deprives the plaintiff of a personal stake in the outcome of the lawsuit"

Granting the court discretion to exclude matters outside the pleadings presented to the court in defense of a motion to dismiss

Holding a party may move for summary judgment on any part of any claim or defense in the lawsuit

Finding that, per N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1024, New York law provides a more forgiving principle for relation back in the context of naming John Doe defendants described with particularity in the complaint

Granting equal rights to "make and enforce contracts" without regard to race

Holding that, to certify a class, the court must find that "questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members"

Adopting case law prior to June 4, 1989, “with respect to the concept of ‘alternative employment practice’ ”

Holding employers liable for “unpaid minimum wages, or their unpaid overtime compensation”

Asking only whether the alleged inequality resulted from “any other factor other than sex”

Exempting salaried employees from the FLSA's overtime pay requirement

Recognizing that not all FLSA wage and overtime claims are willful

Recognizing that application of the equal pay standard is a fact-intensive inquiry that must be determined on a case-by-case basis

Explaining that the requirements of substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility are separate tests, each of which must be met

Discussing ability as a subfactor of skill

Stating that "payment of a higher rate" to an employee who has "additional degree of responsibility which may materially affect the business operations of the employer" is permissible

Stating that “each physically separate place of business is ordinarily considered a separate establishment”

Defining "wages"

Stating that "[w]here substantial differences exist in the amount or degree of effort required to be expended in the performance of jobs, the equal pay standard cannot apply even though the jobs may be equal in all other respects"

Defining "establishment," for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act as a "`distinct physical place of business' . . . consistent with the meaning of the term as it is normally used in business and in government. . . ."

Distinguishing establishments from the enterprises that control them