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LITIGATION MATTERS
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3 Months Ended |
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Apr. 28, 2012
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| LITIGATION MATTERS [Abstract] | |
| LITIGATION MATTERS |
8. LITIGATION MATTERS
In 2006, a former store manager filed a collective action against the Company in Alabama federal court. She claims that she and other store managers should have been classified as non-exempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and received overtime compensation. The Court preliminarily allowed nationwide (except California) certification. At present, approximately 265 individuals are included in the collective action. The Company’s motion to decertify the collective action was dismissed without prejudice in 2010. The Company filed another motion to decertify on February 29, 2012, which now awaits decision by the Court. There is no scheduled trial date.
In 2009, 34 plaintiffs, filed a class action Complaint in a federal court in Virginia, alleging gender pay and promotion discrimination under Title VII. In 2010, the case was dismissed with prejudice. Plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The appeal has been fully briefed by the parties and oral arguments were conducted in January 2012. The parties await a decision of the appellate court which is expected by late spring or summer of 2012.
In April 2011, a former assistant store manager, on behalf of himself and those similarly situated, instituted a class action in a California state court primarily alleging a failure by the Company to provide meal breaks, to compensate for all hours worked, and to pay overtime compensation. The Company removed the case to federal court which denied Plaintiffs’ motion for remand of the case to state court. The case presently awaits a scheduling order. There is no trial date.
In June 2011, Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. and various of its affiliates instituted suit in federal court in Florida alleging that the Company, in approximately 48 shopping centers in the state of Florida and five other states where Dollar Tree and Winn-Dixie are both tenants, is selling goods and products in Dollar Tree stores in violation of an exclusive right of Winn-Dixie to sell and distribute such items. It seeks both monetary damages and injunctive relief. At approximately the same time, Winn-Dixie also sued Dollar General, Inc. and Big Lots, Inc. making essentially the same allegations against them and seeking the same relief. The court consolidated the three cases and the trial began on May 14, 2012.
In the summer and fall of 2011 collective action lawsuits were filed against the Company in six federal courts by different assistant store managers, each alleging he or she was forced to work off the clock in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The suits were filed in Georgia, Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Illinois. Plaintiffs also assert various state law claims for which they seek class treatment. The Georgia suit sought statewide class certification for those assistant store managers similarly situated during the relevant time periods. The state-based claims have been dismissed and only the federal claims remain and, on the Company's motion, the case was transferred to the U.S. District court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Florida, Colorado, Michigan and Illinois cases seek nationwide certifications for those assistant store managers similarly situated during the relevant time periods. The Illinois case also includes a purported class of all other hourly store associates, making the same allegations on their behalf. The Company has commenced its investigation and has filed motions to dismiss and motions to transfer venue to the Eastern District of Virginia in these four cases. No rulings on these motions have been made to date. The Plaintiffs filed a motion with the federal court Multi-District Litigation Panel to consolidate all these and other related cases which motion was denied. To date, the only cases in which class certification motions have been filed are the Illinois and Colorado actions. None of the cases have been assigned a trial date.
Around May 1, 2012, three associates who were formerly employed at the Company’s distribution center in Joliet, Illinois filed a Rule 23 class action lawsuit in federal court in Illinois alleging that at the time of their termination of employment, they failed to receive compensation for their accrued paid time off. They brought this case on behalf of themselves and those former associates similarly situated. The Company has just begun its investigation of the allegations contained in the Complaint.
The Company will vigorously defend itself in these matters. The Company does not believe that any of these matters will, individually or in the aggregate, have a material effect on its business or financial condition. The Company cannot give assurance, however, that one or more of these lawsuits will not have a material effect on its results of operations for the period in which they are resolved. Based on the information available to the Company, including the amount of time remaining before trial, the results of discovery and the judgment of internal and external counsel, the Company is unable to express an opinion as to the outcome of these matters and cannot estimate a potential range of loss.
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