Red Rock Auto wage theft lawsuit headed for trial Dec. 9-11

A civil wage theft lawsuit, 23CV52 (pdf), filed by a tenacious former vehicle detailer against Red Rock Auto Group II, Inc. and Red Rock’s local minority owner Bryan Knight, is headed for a fast-approaching jury trial December 9-11, 2024 at the Mesa County Justice Center.

At a virtual pre-trial conference this morning, November 20, Judge Matthew Barrett confirmed that the trial is set for those dates and will be heard by a 6-person jury.

Derek Paíz worked as a detailer for Red Rock GMC at 741 N. First Street in Grand Junction from April-September, 2022. He filed the case pro se (on his own, without an attorney) on October 26, 2023 seeking wages he alleges Red Rock failed to pay him for work he did while employed at the GMC dealership in 2022. 

Here is the narrative from Paíz’s original complaint:

“On or about July 30, 2022, Bryan Knight and Red Rock Auto Group 2 violated CRS 8-14-101 [the Colorado Wage Act] (pdf) by failing to pay my wages in a timely manner. They also violated CRS 8-4-109 [Termination of Employment, pdf] for not paying wages in full.

I was hired by Andy Borders April 14th, 2022. I was hired at a rate of $116.25 per vehicle. A few months into my employment, three to be exact, my manager, Keith Wilkinson, told me they were going to start paying me for paint and fabric protections. I responded by saying that was already supposed to be happening, am I going to be back-paid? He said no, laughed and walked away. I had asked Andy Borders weeks before. He responded all flat rate details and interior and exterior protections, Exhibit 1. Days later he sent me an internal company document, Exhibits 5 and 6, showing they are in fact not paying at all for paint protection, fabric protections or sanitations, and again asking me to clean the car on an already closed-out ticket, never paying me again.

My wages were earned per vehicle completed in the whole detail shop. I filled out paperwork per vehicle completed and was told when I did not have paperwork. It did not matter because I was paid for every vehicle that went through the detail shop, 10 to 15 a day. I also discovered through the course of my employment I was not being paid for the sold vehicles I was cleaning. See Exhibits, 5 and 6. The ticket is already closed out and showing they did not pay me my full rate as promised days before then, asking me to do the work again and never paying me for it. When I asked my boss, Andy Borders, about this, he told me my help was paid to do the sold vehicles and he would look into my other pay.

I was fired shortly after.

This was not true. My help was not allowed to touch sold vehicles at all, see Exhibit 8, and spent most of their day doing courtesy washes for oil change customers. They underpaid me $66.25 per unsold vehicle and $116.25 per sold vehicle $66.25 at an average of $31.25 or five vehicles a day, $25 a week. That’s $1,656.25 per week over the course of the months. That’s $19,875 not paid on unsold vehicles. Unsold vehicles, I averaged 5 to nine a day, $116.25 per vehicle, $581.25 a day was not paid to me. $2,906.25 over the course of a week, and over 3 months, $34,875 for a total of $54,750.

Bryan Knight and Red Rock Auto Group II employed people who knowingly and willfully did not pay me from April 19th, 2022 through September 2022, my wage is in full for the specific reason of financially benefiting Bryan Knight and Red Rock Auto Group II, and at the direction of Bryan Knight and Red Rock Auto Group II. I have been harmed by these actions financially and emotionally. While Red Rock Auto Group and Bryan Knight violated CRS 8-4-101 and CRS 8-4-109, failing to pay wages and pay wages in a timely manner. I request the court grant me financial relief and order Red Rock Auto group to pay me $54,750 plus any interest gained.

“Ghost checks”

At the pre-trial conference this morning, Paíz told the judge that while going through a large electronic file Red Rock had submitted in discovery for the case, he stumbled onto two checks made out to him that he had never before seen or received. Paíz says the checks were never deposited into his bank account and pointed out they have no check numbers or payroll numbers on them, but that taxes were taken out of them. Paíz contacted Ruben Fragoso, Ph.D., a forensic investigator for the Colorado Attorney General’s office, showed him copies of the questionable checks and, Paíz says, the investigator confirmed that “there is tax fraud going on,” and would determine where to submit the checks for further investigation.

The judge asked Paíz how his claim of tax fraud fit into his wage theft claim. Paíz answered, “It shows they were committing a crime while I was employed with them, they committed forgery against me.” Paíz added, “They are using Red Rock for fraud. These are fake checks, ‘ghost checks’ that they mistakenly sent me in discovery. The withholding numbers don’t match. There’s now evidence of criminal activity against me.”

It remained unclear whether or how this information might be presented at trial, or whether it could be brought as evidence at all in the case.

Paíz told the judge the Belcastro law firm in Grand Junction agreed to represent him if discovery can be reopened in light of the additional information revealed, and Judge Barrett told Paíz he would need a written statement from the Belcastro  firm stating that is the case, and Paíz would have to share the statement with Red Rock’s attorneys. If Paíz can get the written statement from Belcastro, the judge said he would entertain re-opening discovery and pushing the date of the trial further into the future to give the Belcastro attorney(s) time to get up to speed.

As of now, the next court hearing in the case is a status review on 12/4/2024 at 9:45 a.m. via WebEx or in person, in Courtroom 9 at the Mesa County Justice Center.

So far a jury trial in the case is still scheduled to be held December 9-11, 2024.