Genesis HealthCare Corporation v. Symczyk

In this Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action, the defendants made a Rule 68 offer on the named plaintiff’s individual claims before she moved for conditional certification. The defendants then moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, arguing that the Rule 68 offer rendered the case moot. The Third Circuit disagreed with defendants, holding that when a defendant, prior to the named plaintiff’s motion for conditional certification, makes a Rule 68 offer that would have the possible effect of mooting the collective action, a later-filed motion for certification relates back to the filing of the complaint as long as the motion is made without undue delay. The defendants filed a petition for certiorari and the Supreme Court reversed the Third Circuit, holding that where a Rule 68 offer moots the named plaintiff’s claim, the collective action is also moot. Public Citizen was co-counsel for the Respondent in the Supreme Court.