Hensley et al. v. Haynes Trucking, et al.

This website has been approved by the Fayette Circuit Court.

If you were employed as a driver by Haynes Trucking, LLC, and worked on a public works project, at any time between 1995 and 2017, but were not paid the “prevailing wage,” the following class action lawsuit may affect your rights.

James M. Hensley, et al. v. Haynes Trucking, LLC, et al.
Commonwealth Of Kentucky
Fayette Circuit Court
Civil Action No: 10-CI-3986

Read on or click the “contact” link to learn more.

Important DocumentsFAQs
  1. Why Did I Get a Notice in the Mail?
  2. What is This Lawsuit About?
  3. What is a Class Action and Who is Involved?
  4. Why is This Lawsuit a Class Action?
  5. What Does the Lawsuit Complain About?
  6. How do Haynes Trucking and L-M Asphalt Partners Answer?
  7. Has the Court Decided Who is Right?
  8. What are Plaintiffs Asking for?
  9. Is There Any Money Available now?
  10. Am I Part of This Class?
  11. Which Current and Former Employees are Included?
  12. Are any truck drivers who worked for Haynes Trucking not included in the Class?
  13. I’m Still not Sure if I am Included.
  14. What Happens if I do Nothing at all?
  15. Why Would I ask to be Excluded?
  16. How do I ask the Court to Exclude me From the Class?
  17. Do I have a lawyer in this case?
  18. Should I get my own Lawyer?
  19. How Will the Lawyers be Paid?
  20. How and When Will the Court Decide Who is Right?
  21. Do I Have to Come to the Trial?
  22. Will I get Money After the Trial?
  23. Are More Details Available?
1. Why Did I Get a Notice in the Mail?

Haynes Trucking’s records show that you currently work, or previously worked, for Haynes Trucking as a truck driver. The Court has allowed, or “certified,” a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you may exercise before the Court holds a trial. This lawsuit is to decide whether the claims being made against Haynes Trucking, LLC, and L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd. (also known as ATS Construction), on your behalf, are correct. Judge Ernesto Scorsone of the Fayette Circuit Court, is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as Hensley, et al. v. Haynes Trucking, et al., Case No. 10-CI-03986.

Back to Top

2. What is This Lawsuit About?

This lawsuit is about whether Haynes Trucking, LLC, did not pay prevailing wage to truck drivers who were entitled to prevailing wage for certain work on public works projects between 1995 and January 9, 2017.

Back to Top

3. What is a Class Action and Who is Involved?

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called “Class Representatives” (in this case James Melvin Hensley, Danny Lainhart, James D. Fetters, Charles Bussell and William E. Abney) sued on behalf of other people who have similar claims. The people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.” The truck drivers who sued―and all the Class Members like them―are called the Plaintiffs. The organizations they sued (in this case Haynes Trucking, LLC, and L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd.) are called the Defendants. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class and all of them are bound by the decision of the court―except for those people who choose to exclude themselves from the Class.

Back to Top

4. Why is This Lawsuit a Class Action?

The Court decided that this lawsuit can move forward as a class action because it meets the requirements of Kentucky Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class actions in Kentucky courts. Specifically, the Court found that:

  • Haynes Trucking, LLC has employed at least 139 truck drivers who could meet the class definition;
  • There are questions of law and fact common to each of them;
  • The claims of the Class Representatives are typical of the claims of the rest of the Class;
  • The Class Representatives will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Class;
  • The common questions of law and fact predominate over any questions affecting only individual members;
  • The lawyers for the Class are sufficiently experienced and qualified to serve as Class counsel, and
  • This class action is the superior method to resolve the common issues in this case.

More information about why the Court is allowing this lawsuit to be a class action is in the Court’s Amended Order Certifying the Class, which is available here.

Back to Top

5. What Does the Lawsuit Complain About?

Plaintiffs allege that the Defendants violated Kentucky law, KRS 337.505 to 337.550, by not paying prevailing wage to truck drivers when they worked on public works projects. You can read Plaintiffs’ Amended Class Action Complaint here.

Back to Top

6. How do Haynes Trucking and L-M Asphalt Partners Answer?

Haynes Trucking, LLC, and L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd. deny liability and contend that they were not required to pay Plaintiffs prevailing wage under the Kentucky prevailing wage law in effect at the time. You can read the Defendants’ Answer to the Amended Class Action Complaint here.

Back to Top

7. Has the Court Decided Who is Right?

The Court has not decided whether Plaintiffs or Defendants are correct. By establishing the Class and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting that the Plaintiffs will win or lose this case. The Plaintiffs must prove their claims at a trial. (See “The Trial” below on page 7.)

Back to Top

8. What are Plaintiffs Asking for?

The Plaintiffs are seeking money damages for underpaid wages for past and current employees who are class members, for all periods dating from 1995 until January 9, 2017.

Back to Top

9. Is There Any Money Available now?

No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not yet decided whether the Defendants did anything wrong, and the two sides have not settled the case. There is no guarantee that money or benefits will be obtained. If they are, you will be notified about how to ask for a share.

Back to Top

10. Am I Part of This Class?

Judge Scorsone decided that all persons who were employed by Haynes Trucking as truck drivers, at any time since 1995 (through January 9, 2017), who were not paid prevailing wages or proper overtime for certain kinds of work on public works projects are Class Members. The precise definition of the Class is as follows:

All persons who were employed by Haynes Trucking, at any time since 1995, who have not been paid prevailing wages or proper overtime but who transported asphalt, gravel, sand and/or other road building materials to various locations on the site of public works projects in the Commonwealth, distributed road building materials from the truck bed in a controlled manner on the site of the project, unloaded asphalt directly into paving machinery at a specific regulated rate so that such machinery could lay asphalt concurrently on the site of the project, and/or loaded recyclable and non-recyclable materials in conjunction with other heavy machinery for removal of the same from the site of the project.

Back to Top

11. Which Current and Former Employees are Included?

All current and former employees who were truck drivers are members of the Class as long as they were employed by Haynes Trucking, performed certain kinds of work on public works projects that is described in the class definition, at any time between 1995 and January 9, 2017, and were not paid prevailing wage or proper overtime for that work.

Back to Top

12. Are any Truck Drivers who Worked for Haynes Trucking not Included in the Class?

Yes. If you did not do the kinds of work on a public works project that is described above in the class definition, or your work on a public works project was not between 1995 and January 9, 2017, or if you were paid prevailing wage for all qualifying work during that time, you are NOT a Class Member.

Back to Top

13. I’m Still not Sure if I am Included.

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can get free help at Garmer & Prather, or by calling or writing to the lawyers in this case, at the phone number, address, or website listed in the answer to question 23.

Back to Top

14. What Happens if I do Nothing at all?

You do not have to do anything now if you want to keep the possibility of getting money or benefits from this lawsuit. By doing nothing you are staying in the Class. If you stay in and the Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits, either as a result of trial or a settlement, you will be notified about how to apply for a share (or how to ask to be excluded from any settlement). Keep in mind that if you do nothing now, regardless of whether the Plaintiffs win or lose the trial, you will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, Haynes Trucking, LLC, or L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd. as part of any other lawsuit about the same legal claims that are the subject of this lawsuit. This means that, if you stay in the Class, you will be legally bound by all of the orders the Court issues and judgments the Court makes in this class action, and you may be asked to provide evidence relating to your work should you seek to claim a portion of any recovery.

Back to Top

15. Why Would I ask to be Excluded?

You may request to be excluded from the Class if you do not want to be part of it for any reason. If you exclude yourself from the Class―which also means to remove yourself from the Class, and is sometimes called “opting-out” of the Class―you will not get any money or benefits from this lawsuit even if the Plaintiffs obtain them as a result of a trial or from any settlement (that may or may not be reached) between the Plaintiffs and the Defendants. However, you may then be able to sue or continue to sue Haynes Trucking, LLC, or L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd., for underpaying you for work on public works projects at any time after 1995 until January 9, 2017. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s judgments in this class action.

Additionally, if you already have your own lawsuit against Haynes Trucking, LLC, or L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd., for not paying you prevailing wage for time worked on a public works project and you want to continue with it, you need to ask to be excluded from the Class. If you start your own lawsuit against Haynes Trucking, LLC, or L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd., after you exclude yourself, you will have to hire and pay for your own lawyer for that lawsuit, and you’ll have to prove your claims. If you do exclude yourself so you can start or continue your own lawsuit against Haynes Trucking, LLC, or L-M Asphalt Partners, Ltd., you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your claims are subject to a statute of limitations.

If you are unsure whether you should ask to be excluded, you should consult a lawyer of your choosing.

Back to Top

16. How do I ask the Court to Exclude me From the Class?

To ask to be excluded, you must send an “Exclusion Request” in the form of a letter sent by mail, stating that you want to be excluded from Hensley v. Haynes Trucking. Be sure to include your name and address, and sign the letter. You must mail your Exclusion Request postmarked by [date certain =90 days from mail date], to: Hensley v. Haynes Class Action Exclusions, 141 North Broadway, Lexington, KY 40507. You may also use the Exclusion Request form attached to this Notice or may download the form at the website or call Garmer & Prather, PLLC, at 859-254-9351 to request one.

Back to Top

17. Do I Have a Lawyer in This Case?

The Court decided that the law firms Garmer & Prather, PLLC, Caldwell Law Firm, PLLC, and Stout Law Office, PSC, all of Lexington, Kentucky, are qualified to represent you and all Class Members. Together the law firms are called “Class Counsel” in this case.

Back to Top

18. Should I get my own Lawyer?

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you will have to pay that lawyer. For example, you can ask him or her to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

Back to Top

19. How Will the Lawyers be Paid?

If Class Counsel gets money or benefits for the Class, they may ask the Court for fees and expenses. You won’t have to pay these fees and expenses. If the Court grants Class Counsels’ request, the fees and expenses will either be deducted from any money obtained for the Class or paid separately by Defendants.

Back to Top

20. How and When Will the Court Decide Who is Right?

As long as the case is not resolved by a settlement or otherwise, Class Counsel will have to prove the Plaintiffs’ claims at trial. The trial will be held in the Fayette Circuit Court, located at 120 North Limestone, Lexington, Kentucky, 40507. During the trial, a jury or the judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether the Plaintiffs or Defendants are right about the claims in the lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiffs will win, or that they will get any money for some or all of the Class Members.

Back to Top

21. Do I Have to Come to the Trial?

You are not required to attend the trial simply because you choose to remain a Class Member. Class Counsel will present the case for the Plaintiffs, and lawyers for the Defendants will present the defenses. If either Class Counsel or lawyers for the Defendants believe that your testimony is important to the case, you may be required to appear at the trial as a witness. If you are not asked to appear as a witness, you or your own lawyer are still welcome to attend at your own expense.

Back to Top

22. Will I get Money After the Trial?

If the Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits as a result of the trial or settlement, you will be notified about how to participate. We do not know how long this will take.

Back to Top

23. Are More Details Available?

Visit the website, where you will find the Court’s Amended Order Certifying the Class, the Amended Complaint that the Plaintiffs filed, the Defendants’ Answers to the Amended Complaint, as well as an Exclusion request form. You may also submit questions via e-mail by using the “contact” option on the website or writing to Garmer & Prather, PLLC, 141 North Broadway, Lexington, KY 40507, or you may contact the firm via telephone at 859-254-9351.

Back to Top

Important Dates

April 25, 2019: Deadline to submit request for exclusion from the class.

Contact

If you are a class member or are unsure whether you are a class member and have questions about this lawsuit, you may contact Class Counsel the following ways:

Telephone: (859) 254-9351

By writing to:

Hensley v. Haynes Class Action
c/o Garmer & Prather, PLLC
141 North Broadway
Lexington, KY 40507