Bonaparte v. Tri-State Biodiesel LLC

OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Jerome Bonaparte brings this action against his former employers, Tri-State Biodiesel, LLC (“Tri-State”) and Brent Baker (collectively, “Defendants”), alleging, inter alia, that Tri-State improperly withheld overtime compensation as required by federal and state wage and hour laws. Now before the Court is Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the grounds that Tri-State is exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (the “FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. §201 et seq., and that, in any event, Bonaparte’s federal claims must be dismissed as untimely. (Doc. No. 27.) For the reasons that follow, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.I. BACKGROUNDA. Facts¹Defendant Tri-State is a Delaware limited liability company that operates a fleet of trucks to collect used cooking oil (“UCO”) from restaurants and other businesses, transports the UCO to its refining facility in the Bronx – where it purifies the UCO by removing sediments and water-and then sells the refined UCO to biodiesel producers. (Def. 56.1