Paradise Valley Investigation & Patrol Services, Inc. v. United States District Court, District of Arizona

Paradise Valley Investigation and Patrol Services, Inc., an employer defending an action brought by the Secretary of Labor, seeks by way of mandamus in this court to compel the district court to grant a trial by jury. The writ is denied.

The Secretary of Labor is proceeding against Paradise Valley under § 17 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 217 . 1 The Secretary seeks to enjoin noncompliance with the overtime pay provisions of 29 U.S.C. § 207 . Specifically, the Secretary prays for mandatory relief compelling Paradise to (1) disgorge illegally withheld overtime wages, *1343 and (2) refrain from violating the Act’s overtime provisions in the future.

In the district court, Paradise made a timely demand for a jury trial. The Secretary, asserting that the action was wholly equitable, moved successfully to strike the jury demand.

Paradise asserts that the back-pay demand is an action at law, and, consequently, that a jury is required under the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In Wirtz v. Jones, 340 F.2d 901 (5th Cir. 1965), the Fifth Circuit held that the Secretary’s § 17 action to enjoin future overtime violations and to compel employers to…