Illinois Federal Court Grants A Nationwide Conditional Certification In Class Action Against TMX Finance, LLC And Titlemax Of Illinois, Inc.

In a decision filed May 19, 2014, in Terry, et. Al v. TMX Finance, LLC and TitleMax of Illinois, No. 13-6156 (N.D. Ill.), Judge Harry D. Leinenweber granted the plaintiffs motion noting, “Plaintiffs evidence tends to show that GMITs (General Managers in Training) working in multiple states were subjected to a common plan, controlled by TMX Finance, that may have violated the FLSA.” The plaintiffs, who are a collection of GMITs, alleged they were denied the overtime wages they earned because they were “improperly classified as salaried exempt employees…”

Noting the standard for certification requires only a “modest factual showing that the plaintiff and other employees were the victims of a common policy or plan that violated the law.” The court ruled that the plaintiffs showed this when he submitted evidence that the defendants treated its GMITs the same in all states where they worked. Although, TMX Finance has denied that it has a company-wide policy or any involvement with GMITs, the court reasoned that, “[the] evidence tends to show, as the court found when ruling on the motion to dismiss, that TitleMax and TMX Finance were joint employers.” With the ruling of the court, “all persons employed by TitleMax as a General Manager in Training at any time in the past three years,” will be notified of their right to join this lawsuit.

TMX Finance LLC is a privately-owned automobile title lending company with 1,035 company-owned stores in 12 states.

The case, filed by Johnson//Becker, PLLC based in Minneapolis, MN, is currently pending before Judge Harry D. Leinweber in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. The Court has appointed Timothy J. Becker, and David H. Grounds of Johnson//Becker, PLLC; Jason J. Thompson and Jesse L. Young of Sommers Schwartz, P.C.; and Peter J. Flowers or Myers & Flowers as interim class counsel.

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