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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION

KAYLA PENDER, individually and on :
behalf of all others similarly situated, :
:
Plaintiff, :
: Case No. 2:21-cv-04292
v . :
: Chief Judge Algenon L. Marbley
FLYING S. WINGS, INC., et al., :
d/b/a Buffalo Wild Wings, : Magi strate Judge Kimberly A. Jolson
:
Defendants. :

ORDER
This matter is before this Court on Plaintiff Kayla Pender’s Motion for Prejudgment
Attachment of Defendant’s Real Property and Assets (ECF No. 84). For the reasons explained
below, Plaintiff’s Motion (ECF No. 84) is DENIED.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Kayla Pender (“Plai ntiff”) brought suit on behalf of what is now 70 opt-in
Plaintiffs (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) to seek redress for what she a lleges is wage and hour
wrongdoings by Plaintiffs’ former employer, Flying S. Wings, Inc., Flying Buffalo, Inc., Chase &
Green Corp., Scott Lloyd, and Stephen Green, collectively doing business as Buffalo Wild Wings
(“Defendants”). (ECF No. 1 at 1–2). In Plaint iff’s view, Defendants have continually paid their
employees—including Plaintiffs—a subminimum wage in violation of the Ohio Constitution,
Ohio Wage Act, and Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) by way of failing to comply with FLSA’s
tip-credit provisions, whereby an employee “us[es] a portion of an employee’s tips to satisfy the
employer’s minimum wage obligations to the employee” ( Id. at 2). Plaintiff alleges Defendants
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also required them to purchase out-of-pocket tools and items necessary for th e job, such as pens
and uniforms, and did not properly pay and/or account for Plaintiffs’ non-tipped work. (Id.).
Plaintiff sought class certification on behalf of two classes: one for servers and bartenders
in Defendants’ Buffalo Wild Wings Ohio and Wes t Virginia franchises, and one for servers and
bartenders at any of Defendants’ restaurants in Ohio. (ECF No. 24 at 1). Shortly thereafter,
Plaintiff filed an amended complaint (ECF N o. 42), which Defendants answered, putting forth
their affirmative defenses (ECF No. 45). After the parties comple ted class certification briefing
(ECF Nos. 46, 47), this Court held a class certification hearing (ECF Nos. 49, 50). This Court then
granted conditional certification (ECF No. 51), a nd the parties began the notice process to solicit
opt-in plaintiffs (ECF Nos. 52, 53, 55–66, 69– 72). Discovery also kicked off and, as it became
clear that discovery would involve substantial resources, the parties agreed to mediate, so the case
was stayed in March of this year. (ECF Nos. 82, 83).
But mediation was ultimately unsuccessful, so th e parties asked this Court to lift the stay
and continue with discovery. (ECF Nos. 85, 86). And in light of the unsuccessful attempt at
resolution, Plaintiff, on behalf of herself and the Opt-In Plaintiffs, sought prejudgment attachment
of Defendants’ property at issue here today (ECF No. 84). In response, Defendants requested a
hearing on and opposed Plaintiff’s Motion. (ECF No s. 87, 91). This Court held a hearing on
Plaintiff’s Motion on August 16, 2024 (“Motion Hearing”) (ECF No. 89), and this Motion is now
ripe for this Court’s review.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 64(a) broadly provides that a plaintiff has access to “every
remedy [] available that, under the law of the state where the court is located, provides for seizing
a person or property to secure sa tisfaction of the potential judgm ent.” While federal statutes
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govern “to the extent [one] applies,” Fed. R. Ci v. P. 64(a), no such federal statute exists for
prejudgment attachment, so Ohio law governs. Data Processing Scis. Corp. v. Lumenate Techs.,
LP, No. 1:16-cv-291, 2016 WL 3144117, at *2 (S .D. Ohio 2016) (quoting Nationwide Mut. Ins.
Co. v. Whiteford Sys., Inc., 787 F. Supp. 766, 768 (S.D. Ohio 1992)).
Under Ohio law, “[a] plaintiff in an action for the recovery of money … may apply to the
court by written motion for the attachment of property, other than personal earnings, of the
defendant.” Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.03. As a thres hold matter, a plaintiff must submit with its
motion for prejudgment attachment an affidavit from the plaintiff or her agent or attorney detailing:
(1) “[t]he nature and amount of the claim”; (2) “[t]he facts that support at least one ground for an
attachment contained in § 2715.01”; (3) “[a] description of the property sought and its approximate
value, if known”; (4) “the location of the property”; and (5) “[t]o the best of plaintiff’s knowledge,
… the use to which the defendant has put the prope rty and that the proper ty is not exempt from
attachment or execution.” Id. “Only upon determining that Plaintiff has satisfied these
requirements may the Court consider the actual motion for attachment.” Hook v. Baker, No. 2:02-
cv-901, 2004 WL 3113716, at *3 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 7, 2004) (citing Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 787
F. Supp. at 768).
To then succeed on the merits of a motion for prejudgment attachment, a plaintiff must
establish both “grounds of attachment” and “probable cause.” Ohio law allows for attachment in
eleven situations based on a pl aintiff’s claims or a defendant’s conduct, known as “grounds of
attachment.” Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.01. And a show ing of “probable cause” requires the court
to find, by way of paper submissions and the evidence presented at the hearing, if applicable, that
it is “likely” that the plainti ff “will obtain a judgment against the defendant … that entitles the
plaintiff to a money judgment that can be satisfie d out of the property that is the subject of the
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motion.” Id. §§ 2715.043(B), 2715.011(A); Miller v. Food Concepts Int’l, LP , No. 2:13-cv-124,
2015 WL 12672728, at *2 (S.D. Ohio 2015).
Ohio law further establishes that a plaintiff who seeks prejudgment attachment and receives
such an order from the court may be required to post bond to the defendant against whom the
motion was filed. Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.044. If the plaintiff is indigent, however, the court has
discretion, guided by fairness, to waive or lower the bond requirement. Id.
III. LAW & ANALYSIS
Defendants oppose prejudgment attachment on three main grounds, arguing that: (1)
despite a second bite at the apple, Plaintiff has still failed to submit a statutorily compliant affidavit;
(2) Plaintiff has not established probable cause su ch that it is “likely” that she will obtain a
judgment in her favor; and (3) Plaintiff does not demonstrate grounds for attachment. This Court
takes these in turn, and then addresses two other relevant issues: (1) jurisdiction; and (2) the bond
requirement.
A. Statutorily Required Affidavit
As both parties acknowledge, a plaintiff must file an affidavit including certain information
along with her motion. See Ohio Rev. Code. § 2715.03. But as this Court explained in its August
13, 2024 Order, Plaintiff’s Motion did not include an affidavit. (ECF No. 92). And “[w]hile
Plaintiff incorporates by reference declarations from Plaintiff and another of Defendant[s’] former
employees, neither declaration cu res the statutory deficiency, as neither includes all of the
information required by Ohio Revised Code § 2713.03.” (Id. (citing ECF No. 84 at 1 n.1)). In this
jurisdiction, courts typically require strict adherence to certain prejudgment attachment procedural
requirements, such as the filing of this affidavit. See, e.g., Hook, 2004 WL 3113716, at *3 (“The
named plaintiffs failed to attach an affidavit with the requisite informa tion. Consequently, the
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Court DENIES the named plaintiffs’ motion.”); Selectronics, Inc. v. Millennia Grp., Inc., No. 1:08-
cv-1149, 2009 WL 10689608, at *2 (N.D. Ohio Oct. 30, 2009) (“Because Selectronics has not
filed the required praecipe, this court must deny its motion for attachment and garnishment.”). As
such, this Court provided Plaintiff an additional opportunity to file a statutory compliant affidavit
prior to the hearing on her Motion, warning that, otherwise, “her Motion (ECF No. 84) is subject
to dismissal.” (ECF No. 92).
Plaintiff then submitted an Affidavit by counsel, Robert DeRose, explaining that: (1)
Plaintiff seeks both state and fede ral relief for Defendants’ alleged wage and hour violations; (2)
the class of “Plaintiffs’ claims are currently valued at $3,00 0,000.00” based on payroll data and
attorneys’ fees; (3) prejudgment attachment is a ppropriate as Plaintiff’s claims are for “work or
labor” and because Defendants are “about to convert” the property Plaintiff seeks; and (4) Plaintiff
seeks a host of property owned by the Defendants collectively or the Individual Defendants, and
states where such property is lo cated. (ECF No. 93). The Affi davit’s failure to provide an
approximate value of the property sought to be a ttached alone is not fa tal, as an affidavit
nonetheless complies with the property valu e requirement if the value is not known. See Ohio
Rev. Code § 2715.03(C). Plaintiff does not explicitly state in the Affidavit that such value is
unknown, but: (1) Plaintiff cl arified as much as the Motion H earing; and (2) this Court is not
aware of any cases requiring as much. Plaintiff’s Affidavit, therefore, generally satisfies the
statutory requirements.
But Plaintiff’s Affidavit is not perfect. The Affidavit describes the property to be attached
at an extremely high-level, referring to categori es of property such as “appliances, furniture,
vehicles, [and] tools” without defining what these could possibl y be so that this Court can
determine if attachment of that property is prope r, let alone estimate the value of the property to
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be attached. (See, e.g., ECF No. 93 at 3). Additionally, the Affidavit does not include “the use to
which the defendant has put the pr operty,” or an explanation as to why Plaintiff’s reasonable
investigation of as much did not reveal the use. See Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.03(E). Nor does
Plaintiff’s Affidavit expound on how or whether “the property is not exempt from attachment or
execution.” Id. On these points, at the Motion Hearing, Plaintiff explained that, in not including
this information, it relied on the statute’s “[t] o the best of the plaintiff’s knowledge[] after
reasonable investigation” carve out. Id. In so doing, Plaintiff a ppears to have interpreted
Defendants’ poor financial condition as evidence that Defendants are about to use or have already
used the money allegedly owed to Pl aintiffs in an attempt to save their businesses. Plaintiff also
used this carve out to imply that, in Plaintiff’s best guess, the property sought to be attached is not
exempt from attachment. But this Court does not understand why such information could not have
been set forth in Plaintiff’s Affidavit. This carve out does not, in this Court’s view, provide a basis
for not including relevant information should a plaint iff have it; rather, it allows a plaintiff to
supply less-than-precise information as an acknowledgement that a plaintiff cannot be expected to
have information equality as to a defendant’s actions or the ins-and-outs of a defendant’s property
status.
Many of Defendants’ issues with Plaintiff’s Affidavit do not fare well. At the outset, this
Court disagrees that Plaintiff’s “Affidavit does not comply with the personal knowledge
requirement under either Ohio or Federal law.” (ECF No. 94 at 2). Based on this Court’s review
of Plaintiff’s Affidavit, Mr. DeRose can reasonably be said to have personal knowledge of the
contents. For example, Mr. DeRose includes the caveat that “Plaintiffs allege” and “Plaintiffs
believe” some of the information instead of stat ing it directly, and he does indeed have personal
knowledge that Plaintiffs believe or allege those things. (See, e.g., ECF No. 93 at 1–2). Further,
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none of Defendants’ case law re quires that the affidavit in a prejudgment attach ment be from
someone who has personal knowledge of all of the circumstances around Plaintiff’s request. (See
ECF No. 94 at 2–3).
As a broader point, Plaintiff’s Affidavit need not contain all of the information necessary
to secure prejudgment a ttachment, so long as it complies with the statutory requirements. See
Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.03. For this reason, the Affidavit need not “provide[] … grounds or facts
why the Individual Defendants can be held liable for the alleged violations” or “demonstrate or
put forth any facts showing that a judgment is ‘likely’ or that this case is susceptible to class-wide
resolution”; the Motion can do so. (See ECF No. 94 at 6).
Additionally, there is not a per se problem with Plaintiff seeking “attachment of virtually
all of Defendants’ real and personal property” such that “[t]he breadth and scope of the property
sought to be attached is alarming and astonishi ng” to Defendants. (ECF No. 94 at 3). If
sufficiently described and necessary to secure funds for a potential money judgment in plaintiff’s
favor, these grounds alone do not rais e concern. And as to Plaintiff’s requests for attachment of
property outside of Ohio, this is a jurisdictional issue—not an affidavit compliance issue—which
this Court addresses in detail below. (See ECF No. 94 at 4).
Thus, the question remains whether this Affidavit is sufficient. Certainly, courts have
refused to consider the merits of prejudgment attachment requests for failure to comply with the
state law procedural requirements. (See ECF No. 91 at 7–8 (collecting cases)). But most of these
failures were complete, such as failing to include an affidavit or praecipe at all—as Plaintiff did
originally but then cured—or it was unclear from the record what was missing, which is not helpful
to this Court today. See, e.g., Browning v. University of Findlay , No. 3:15-cv-2687, 2019 WL
582351, at *2 (N.D. Ohio Feb. 13, 2019) (denying motion for fail ure to file a praecipe);
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Selectronics, Inc., 2009 WL 10689608, at *2 (same); Zeeb Holdings, LLC v. Johnson, 552 F. Supp.
3d 709, 712 (N.D. Ohio 2021) (same); Buemi v. Ohio Insulation and Acoustics, No. 68460, 1995
WL 558907, at *2 (Ohio Ct. App. Sept. 21, 1995) (court did not include the procedural
shortcoming); Hook, 2004 WL 3113716, at *3 (failing to attach an affidavit). But see Tyler v.
Sento Corp., No. 5:08-cv-1047, 2008 WL 11383294, at *1–2 (N.D. Ohio Oct. 2, 2008) (denying
for incompleteness of affidavit). And the Sixth Ci rcuit has long held that “the Ohio statutes of
attachment are to be construed liberally for the benefit of th e attaching party.” Nw. Yeast Co. v.
Broutin, 133 F.2d 628, 630 (6th Cir. 1943) (citing Smith v. Buck, 119 Ohio St. 101, 109, 162 N.E.
382, 61 A.L.R. 1343; Weirick v. Mansfield Lumber Co., 96 Ohio St. 386, 117 N.E. 362; Bridge v.
Ring, 25 Ohio App. 149, 157 N.E. 496). Be that as it may, even assuming arguendo that Plaintiff’s
affidavit is procedurally sound, Plaintiff’s motion nonetheless fall s short of demonstrating that
prejudgment attachment is proper at this time.
B. Grounds for Prejudgment Attachment
Plaintiff asserts two grounds upon which sh e believes prejudgment attachment is
appropriate: (1) “[t]hat the cl aim is for work or labor,” Oh io Rev. Code § 2715.01(11); and (2)
that “the defendant is about to convert property, in whole or pa rt, into money for the purpose of
placing it beyond the reach of creditors,” id. § 2715.01(7). (See ECF No. 84 at 6–9). Defendant
disputes the latter of these, but is silent as to the former. (ECF No. 91 at 15–16).
1. Whether Plaintiff’s Claims are for “Work or Labor”
In support of her assertions that her claims ar e for “work or labor,” Pl aintiff explains that
“the services they performed for Defendants were subject to Defendants’ direction and control and
were not primarily mental ,” nor did they “involve the exercise of professional judgment to the
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level contemplated by” the statut e. (ECF No. 84 at 7). These services, she explains, include
“primarily physical tasks done for the purpose of supporting restaurant operations.” (Id. at 8).
Under Ohio’s prejudgment-attachment statute, “[t]he term ‘work’ embraces the services
rendered by the laborer, operative, and artisan in the production of wealth as distinguished from
those whose exertion is primarily and almost entirely mental.” Hatmaker, 2021 WL 99346, at *3
(quoting Corbett v. Moderalli, No. 77 C.A. 123, 1978 WL 214903, at *1 (Ohio App. 1978)). In
this way, courts have disaggr egated the activities done by at torneys, physicians, and other
professionals engaging in “professional activitie s” from the type of work contemplated by
Plaintiffs. Id. (citing Papouras v. The M. J. Kelley Co., No. 35145, 1976 WL 191093, at *1 (Ohio
App. 1976)). Given the mostly physical activities performed by Plaintiffs as servers and bartenders
for Defendants, Plaintiffs are a far cry from an executive or manager. See Henry v. Mangold, 81
N.E.2d 342, 344 (1947). Instead, Plaintiffs performed “work” within the meaning of the relevant
statute, so Plaintiff has alleged grounds for prejudgment attachment. See § 2715.01(A)(11).
2. Whether Defendants are “About to Covert” the Property at Issue
Having determined that Plaintiff sufficiently alleged that her claims are for “work or labor,”
this Court need not consider other grounds for a ttachment. But as the pa rties fully briefed the
“about to convert” ground, this Court reviews it nonetheless. In Plaintiff’s view, Defendants
“unlawfully withheld and distributed” Plaintiffs’ tips for “us[e] … for Defendants’ own reasons,”
which “resulted in Defendants’ financial gain at th e Plaintiffs’ expense.” (ECF No. 84 at 9). In
response, Defendants explain, among other things, that they “dispute Plaintiffs’ claim and all
liability” so “[i]t makes no sense that Plaintiff can satisfy O.R.C. § 2715.01(7) by pointing to the
very conduct that is disputed and that Plaintiff must prove.” (ECF No. 91 at 15).
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Plaintiff’s assertions here are akin to those in Enable Healthcare, Inc. v. Cleveland Quality
Healthnet, LLC, No. 1:16-cv-2395, 2016 WL 6821980 (N.D . Ohio Nov. 18, 2016). There, the
plaintiff’s only argument in support of the “abou t to convert” prong was th at “'[o]n information
and belief, when Defendant receives the … Paym ents, it will convert that property into money
payments to each of its member physician pr actices, thereby placing it beyond the reach of
Plaintiffs.” Id. at *2. But the court rejected that argument, explaining that the plaintiff “provides
no facts that would support his conc lusory statement,” as “he does not even aver that defendant
would convert the … Payment into money for the purpose of placing it beyond the reach of
plaintiff.” Id. The court also added that “Plaintiff cites no evidence that defendant has taken any
action in an effort to avoid sa tisfying a judgment … a nd there is no evidence that they would be
beyond the reach of plaintiff.” Id.
The same is true here. This Court agrees that, at least in this context, “one is presumed to
intend the natural and probable conse quences of his voluntary acts.” Hennon v. Hennon , 21
O.O.2d 18, 186 N.E.2d 509 (C.P. 1960) (interpreting the “about to convert” attachment ground).
But, as this Court explains below, Plaintiff has not, at this time, provided sufficient information to
show that Defendants’ wrongdoings are “likely.” Plaintiff has therefore not established the
“voluntary acts” from which Defendants could be pr esumed to intend any c onsequences. In this
Court’s view, without certainty of Defendants’ acts—that is, without some level of certainty that
Defendants did, in fact, convert Plaintiff’s tips into their own profits—this Court cannot agree that
such acts were “for the purpose of” anything. So, Plaintiff has not met her burden as to the “about
to covert” ground.
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C. Probable Cause
Whether Plaintiff has shown probable cause turns on how she presents the substance of her
underlying claims at this point, as probable cause exists only if it is “likely that [the plaintiff] will
obtain judgment against the defendant ... that entitles the plaintiff to a money judgment that can be
satisfied out of the property th at is the subject of the motion. ” Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.011(A).
Plaintiff argues that as a result of “Defenda nts’ practices of paying subminimum wages[,] …
requiring them to incur work-related expenses, a nd engag[ing] in substantial amounts of … non-
tipped work,” “Defendants’ viol ations of [the Ohio Wage Act and FLSA] are per se and
uncontestable,” so she is “more than likely to obtain a judgment agai nst Defendants on these
claims.” (ECF No. 84 at 10–11).
Defendants disagree, claiming th at instead of “provid[ing ] facts to support her heavy
burden, … Plaintiff merely summarizes the claims she asserts against Defendants[.]” (ECF No.
91 at 9). Defendants point to the parties’ co nflicting evidence and Defendants’ denial of
wrongdoing as evidence “that it is ‘far from clear’ that ‘plaintiffs will prevail on their underlying
claims.’” (Id. at 10 (citing Zeeb Holdings, LLC, 552 F. Supp. 3d at 714)). Defendants also submit
that, for a separate and distinct reason, Plainti ff has not demonstrated probable cause against the
Individual Defendants, as, in their view, “Plaintiff offers no facts or argument that these individuals
satisfy any test for determining whether they can be held liable for the alleged violations.” (Id. at
11) (citing United States DOL v. Cole Enters., 62 F.3d 775, 778 (6th Cir. 1995)).
Each party submitted evidence in support of their respective positions, which alone
distinguishes this case from Miller, wherein the “Plaintiffs’ motion set[] forth no facts or evidence
demonstrating probable cause; nor did Plaintiff adduce any such facts or evidence at the … hearing
on this issue” such that “[t]he Court … has nothing before it on wh ich to base a [probable cause]
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determination[.]” 2015 WL 12672728, at *4. With her Motion to Certify Class, Plaintiff submitted
declarations from herself and another of Defend ants’ former employees stating that Defendants
“paid [them] a subminimum hourly wage,” used improper tip pooling pr actices, assigned their
duties such that “more than 20% of [their] time” was spent on “non-tipped duties,” and forced
them to “purchase various items and incur expenses to perform their jobs.” (ECF Nos. 24-1, 24-
2)). These, Plaintiff asserts, constitute state and FLSA violating practices, and resulted in a
“combined thousands of hours of uncompensated work[.]” (ECF No. 84 at 9). In Plaintiff’s view,
the trump card is that “[t]he Defendants ha ve acknowledged” their allegedly improper pay
practices. (ECF No. 84 at 10–11).
In contrast, Defendants procured Plaintiff’s records to demonstrate that, as an example, she
was paid “almost three times the minimum wage,” and described the policies in place intended to
prevent the wage and hour violat ions Plaintiff alleges. (ECF No. 91 at 3–5). These policies
include, among others: (1) instructing employes to “clock in under a ‘meeting’ designation when
performing non-tipped work” so that they “are paid a minimum wage for that time”; (2) providing
“all tips … directly to the employee that earned the tips”; and (3) provid ing employees with the
“tools or supplies to perform their work[.]” (Id.).
If Defendants actually conceded wrongdoing, this would certainly be strong evidence of
Defendants’ liability in a way relevant to whether this Cour t thinks a judgment will be entered
against them. See Hatmaker v. Papa John’s Ohio LLC , No. 3:17-cv-00146, 2021 WL 99346, at
*5–6 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 12, 2021), report and recommendation adopted , No. 3:17-cv-00146, 2021
WL 849309 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 2, 2021) (discussing the impact of defendants’ admissions regarding
FLSA liability). But Plaintiff appears to have stretched this admission too far because, just as was
the case in Hatmaker, here, “Defendants counter that th eir … responses do not contain the
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admissions Plaintiff[] describe.” Id. at *5. Indeed, Defendants unambiguously “dispute Plaintiff’s
allegations and all wrongdoing.” (ECF No. 91 at 10). In the opinion of this Court, this constitutes
the “conflicting evidence” as to Defendants’ alle ged wage and labor violat ions contemplated in
Zeeb Holdings, LLC., 552 F. Supp. 3d at 714.
This Court does not hold that contested evidence on its own amounts to a lack of probable
cause, nor that unchallenged ev idence necessitates a finding in the movant’s favor. (See Student
Res. Ctr., LLC v. Eastern Gateway Cmty. Coll., 2:22-cv-02653, ECF No. 145 at 12 (distinguishing
Zeeb Holdings, LLC., 552 F. Supp. 3d at 709)). But the strength of the opposing party’s argument
and evidence that they did not, in fact, comm it the wrongs being alle ged unequivocally bears on
whether it is “likely” that a plaintiff “will obtain a judgment against the defendant … that entitles
the plaintiff to a money judgment that can be satisfied out of the property that is the subject of the
motion.” Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2715.043(B), 2715.011(A). And based on the evidence in front of
this Court at this time, it is simply not “likel y” that Plaintiff will obtain a judgment against
Defendants. Said differently, based on the eviden ce in front of this Cour t today, Plaintiff falls
short of her probable cause burden.
By way of example, compare this controverted evidence to th at found to be sufficient to
establish probable cause in Bd. of Trustees of Cleveland Asbestos Workers Pension Fund v. Berry
Pipe & Equip. Insulation Co., No. 1:08-01082-JG, 2008 WL 4646064 (N.D. Ohio Oct. 17, 2008).
There, the plaintiffs submitted an “uncontradict ed affidavit” that the defendants created a new
company and began hiring their old employees at this new company in order to “maintain [their]
customer base and remain in bus iness, yet avoid the obligations [they] owe[ ] to Third-Party
Plaintiffs.” Id. at *2. Due to this credible threat that the “[d]efendants ‘ha[ve] assigned, removed,
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disposed of, or [are] about to di spose of, property, in whole or pa rt, with the intent to defraud
creditors,’” the court held that prejudgment attachment was appropriate. Id. at *2–3.
But here, instead of providing similarly persuasive evidence, “Plaintiffs’ [sic] incorrectly
see conclusively factual findings where none presently exist.” Hatmaker, 2021 WL 99346, at *6.
And it bears mentioning that Plaintiff provides no authority for her position that her circumstances
render it “likely” that she will obtain a judgment in her favor. This Court cannot accept Plaintiff’s
argument based only on vigorously disputed declarations. See Connecticut v. Doehr, 501 U.S. 1,
14 (1991) (rejecting a state statute that allowed for prejudgment attach of real estate based on “one-
sided, self-serving, and concluso ry submissions” that there wa s probable cause to support the
validity of the party’s claims). So, “[a]t this stage, [Plaintiff]’s theories are simply too tenuous and
lacking legal support for this Court to find that [P laintiff] is likely to obt ain a judgment against
[Defendants].” PCA-Corr., LLC v. Akron Healthcare LLC, No. 1:20-cv-428, 2021 WL 1582984,
at *5 (S.D. Ohio Apr. 22, 2021).
As discussed during the Motion Hearing, this Court agreed with Plaintiff’s view of the case
in the class certification context, holding “that Plaintiff has met her burden of setting forth a
‘modest factual showing that [she] is similarly situated to the other employees [she] is seeking to
notify.’” (ECF No. 51 at 10 (citing Brittmon v. Upreach, LLC, 285 F. Supp. 3d 1033, 1043 (S.D.
Ohio 2018)). Put differently, this Court found th at if Defendants indeed committed the alleged
wrongdoings, Plaintiff and the class she seeks to represent would likely be similarly situated as to
those wrongdoings. ( Id. at 10–12). Today’s ruling does not change this vi ew, but it means that
the record before this Court does not establish that Plaintiff is “likely” to obtain a judgment in the
class’s favor as to these alleged wrongdoings in the way required for prejudgment attachment. But
nothing in this finding should be taken as an indication of how this Court will substantively decide
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Plaintiff’s case; the outcome of this Court’s pr obable cause analysis does not weigh in on “the
ultimate merits of Plaintiff[’]s[] FLSA claims.” Hatmaker, 2021 WL 99346, at *5.
D. Other Issues
While consideration of any other issues is unnecessary given this Court’s substantive
findings, this Court concludes by addressing two final issues: (1) whether this Court has
jurisdiction over Defendants’ property; and (2) whether Plaintiff would be obligated to post a bond.
1. Jurisdiction over Property
Neither party appears to have raised the question of jurisdiction in their in initial briefs, but
Defendants argue that “the A ffidavit improperly seeks attachment for property located in
‘Parkersburg, West Virginia, Moundsville, West Vi rginia, and Barboursville, West Virginia.’”
(ECF No. 94 at 4). While Defendants do not outright lodge this as a jurisdictional challenge, they
cite a case explaining that “Ohio’ s attachment statute does not a pply to property that is located
outside of Ohio.” Zeeb, 552 F. Supp. 3d at 712 (citing EBSCO Indus., Inc. v. Lilly, 840 F.2d 333,
336 (6th Cir. 1988), and Commodigy OG Vegas Holdings, LLC v. ADM Labs, No. 1:19-cv-01382,
2019 WL 6716457, at *2 (N.D. Ohio)). As applied in Zeeb, the court concluded that “[b]ecause
the … plaintiffs have the burden of showing that they are entitled to attach the requested property,
they have the burden of showing that the property is located in Ohio,” but that “they have not
satisfied this burden.” Id. at 713. This Court has already found that prejudgment attachment is not
appropriate here, but even if it found otherwise, this Court felt it worth noting that it could not
exercise this power over any proper ty “located outside of Ohio.” Id. at 712. That said, Plaintiff
amended her position during the Motion Hearing to explain that she does not seek assets in West
Virginia.
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2. Bond
A to the bond requirement, if a movant receives an order of prejudgment attachment from
the court, said movant may be required to post bond to the party agai nst whom the motion was
filed. Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.044. But, as Plain tiff points out, a court “may waive the bond ‘as
fairness requires.’” (ECF No. 84 at 14 (quot ing Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.044)). One such
circumstance is indigency. See, e.g., Wilson v. D&N Masonry, Inc. , No. 1:12-cv-922, 2013 WL
12131344, at *2 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 28, 2013) (“Plaintiff, because he is indigent, shall not be required
to post any bond for this attachment order to issue.”).
But in Wilson, the plaintiff sought and was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis, so
the court had already established his inability to pay based on the plaintiff’s financial records prior
to the prejudgment attachment proceedings. (Wilson, 1:12-cv-922, ECF Nos. 1 (motion for leave
to proceed in forma pauperis), ECF No. 2 (granting of ECF No. 1)). The same is true for the bond
waiver in Clevenger v. JMC Mechanical, Inc., as plaintiff declared in his prejudgment attachment
declaration that the subject of his lawsuit is that he “not been paid for three weeks, so [he] cannot
afford to pay” the cost of litigation. (2:15-cv-2639, ECF No. 2-1 at 1–2; 2:15-cv-2639, 2015 WL
12683415, at *2 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 28, 2015) (waiving bond due to indigency)). But no such records
were presented here.
It is, of course, relevant that, like in Clevenger, Plaintiff’s action here is based on
Defendants’ alleged deprivation of Plaintiff’s wages and/or tips. ( See ECF No. 84 at 14). And
this Court does not disagree that “it would be unreasonable and unjust to require workers to post
a bond to obtain wages their employer stole through conversion.” ( Id.). But Ohio law requires a
bond “in an amount twice the approxima te value of the property to be attached under the order.”
Ohio Rev. Code § 2715.044. Here, Pl aintiff seeks to attach prope rty sufficient to pay a money
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judgment of over $3,000,000.00 on behalf of the si milarly situated workers. Assuming for
purposes of this point that Defendants’ property is worth that much and that Plaintiff would
otherwise be entitled to prejudg ment attachment, Plai ntiff would be respons ible for a bond of
$6,000,000.00 in order to get her requested relief. Certainly, fairness might—and likely would—
require the waiver or lessening of this burden. But given the state of the case law surrounding the
bond requirement, it is cu rrently appropriate for this Court to require some evidence of financial
hardship caused by the posting of such a bond, and here, Plaintiff has provided no such evidence.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above, this Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion for Prejudgment
Attachment (ECF No. 84).
IT IS SO ORDERED.

ALGENON L. MARBLEY
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

DATED: August 22, 2024

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