FedEx Class Action Defense Cases–In re FedEx Ground: Indiana Federal Court Grants Class Action Certification Motions As To Certain State Labor Law Class Action Claims And Denies Class Action Treatment As To Five State Lawsuits

Labor Law Class Actions, Coordinated for Pretrial Purposes by Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, Warranted Class Action Treatment under Certain State Laws but failed to Satisfy Prerequisites for Class Action Treatment under Other State Laws Indiana Federal Court Holds

Numerous class action lawsuits were filed in various states against Federal Express alleging labor law violations in that FedEx allegedly failed to pay certain delivery drivers overtime and other wages; ultimately, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation coordinated the class actions for pretrial purposes in the Northern District of Indiana. In re FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., Employment Practices Litig., ___ F.3d ___ (N.D.Ind. July 27, 2009) [Slip Opn., at 1 _et seq._]. In October 2007 and March 2008, the district court resolved “the first of three wages” of class action certification motions involving putative class actions that had been filed in 28 states. _Id._, at 1 (and see Note, below). Plaintiffs in 14 of the remaining class actions, filed in at least 11 different states, moved the district court to certify their lawsuits as class actions (or as collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)), _id._, at 1-2. The district court explained that in considering whether to grant class action treatment with respect to the states at issue, “Analysis focuses primarily on whether the substantive law governing the motion allows resolution, without extrinsic evidence, of whether the Operating Agreement and policies applicable to the entire class create an employment relationship, and whether a would-be employer’s conduct can convert an employment relationship (as defined in the employment contract) into an independent contractor relationship.” _Id._, at 2.

Given the length of the district court’s opinion, and the detailed analysis involved in considering each state’s laws, we provide here only the court’s conclusions. First, the district court granted the motion by Arizona plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action, see In re FedEx, at 4-5. Second, the court denied the motion by Colorado plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action, id., at 7. Third, the court denied the motion by Connecticut plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action, id., at 9. Fourth, the court denied the motion by certain plaintiffs for conditional certification of a collective action under the FLSA, id., at 16. Fifth, the court granted the motion by Georgia plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action, id., at 24. Sixth, the court granted the motion by Louisiana plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action with respect to certain claims for relief, but denied the motion with respect to other claims for relief, id., at 39-40. Seventh, the court denied the motion by certain plaintiffs to certify as a class action their lawsuit under the Motor Carrier Safety Act, id., at 43-44. Eighth, the court granted the motion by Nevada plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action with respect to a statutory claim brought under Nev. Rev. Stat. Ch. 608, but otherwise denied the motion with respect to all other claims for relief, id., at 50. Ninth, the court granted the motion by North Carolina plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action, id., at 52. Tenth, the court granted the motion by Ohio plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action, id., at 56. Eleventh, the court granted the motion by Oregon plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action with respect to all claims for relief except for the rescission claim, id., at 67. Twelfth, the court denied the motion by Vermont plaintiffs to certify their lawsuit as a class action, id., at 78.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Multidistrict Litigation Uncategorized

Blue Cross Class Action Defense Cases–Yeager v. Blue Cross: California Court Affirms Judgment For Insurer In Class Action Challenging Infertility Treatment Coverage Holding Full Coverage Not Required By Statute

Trial Court Properly Granted Insurer’s Motion for Summary Judgment in Class Action Challenging Infertility Treatment Benefits because California Law Requires only that Blue Cross “Offer” such Coverage on Terms Negotiated with Employer, not that the Insurance Benefits Provide “Full” Coverage for Infertility Treatments California Appellate Court Holds Plaintiff filed a putative class action against Blue Cross of California alleging for violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and false advertising; specifically, the class action complaint alleged that California law required Blue Cross to offer to provide insurance coverage for infertility treatments, but that it only offered “to pay up to $2,000 a year for half the cost of each group member’s treatment for infertility.

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UPS Class Action Defense Cases–Hohider v. United Parcel Service Express: Third Circuit Reverses Class Action Certification Of ADA Class Action Holding District Court Abused Discretion In Granting Certification

District Court Order Granting Certification Of ADA Class Action under Rule 23(b)(2) Warranted Reversal because District Court Abused Discretion in Overlooking Individualized Inquiries Inherent in Class Action Claims and because Monetary Relief was not Merely Incidental to Class Action Complaint Third Circuit Holds

Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against United Parcel Service “alleging UPS has adopted and implemented companywide employment policies that are unlawfully discriminatory under the [Americans with Disabilities Act] ADA.” Hohider v. United Parcel Service, Inc., ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. July 23, 2009) [Slip Opn., at 6]. A separate class action was filed against UPS that was ultimately consolidated for all purposes with the initial action. _Id._, at 7. In broad terms, “Plaintiffs’ claims of unlawful discrimination focus on UPS’s alleged treatment of employees who attempt to return to work at UPS after having to take leave for medical reasons.” _Id._ According to the allegations underlying the class action, “UPS, as a matter of companywide policy, refuses to offer any accommodation to employees seeking to return to work with medical restrictions, effectively precluding them from resuming employment at UPS in any capacity because of their impaired condition.” _Id._, at 8. Plaintiffs moved the district court to certify the litigation as a nationwide class action, _id._, at 6-7, 10. In analyzing plaintiffs’ motion, the district court concluded that the proper “framework for analyzing a Title VII pattern-or-practice claim” in “a private-party class action brought under the ADA” was that set forth in _Franks v. Bowman Transp. Co._, 424 U.S. 747 (1976), _Int’l Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States_, 431 U.S. 324 (1977), and _Cooper v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond_, 467 U.S. 867 (1984). _Id._, at 29. The district court concluded that plaintiffs satisfied the requirements for class action certification under Rule 23(b)(2), _id._, at 11-12. UPS appealed, and in an 86-page opinion the Third Circuit reversed, _id._

The Circuit Court noted that the district court recognized the difficulties in allowing the litigation to proceed as a class action. For example, the district court “recognized that, in the present case, some of these ‘individual elements of a reasonable accommodation claim’ are not suitable for class treatment, as their resolution would require inquiries too individualized and divergent with respect to this class to meet the requirements of Rule 23.” Hohider, at 34. The court found, however, that “these individualized inquiries could be delayed until the second, ‘remedial’ stage” and so did not preclude class certification for the “‘liability’ stage,” which required “only proof of the existence of the alleged policies as UPS’s ‘standard operating procedure.’” Id. In the district court’s words, “It is sufficient in order to certify a class pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) for the court to find that either UPS has acted on grounds generally applicable to the class by engaging in the alleged de facto 100% healed policy or by not engaging in the alleged de facto 100% healed policy; by implementing its formal ADA compliance procedures in violation of the ADA, or by implementing them in compliance with it; or by creating job classifications that are designed without regard to essential job functions to preclude anyone from returning to work who could not lift seventy pounds, or by creating job classifications that are designed with regard to essential job functions.” Id., at 34-35. The Third Circuit found that the district court misconstrued the Teamsters framework, and that “[t]o the extent the District Court relied upon the Teamsters method of proof to reach a certification decision incompatible with the substantive requirements of the ADA, it abused its discretion.” Id., at 42. The Third Circuit held at page 42, “Having reviewed plaintiffs’ claims in light of the substantive requirements of the ADA, we find those claims cannot be adjudicated within the parameters of Rule 23 such that a determination of classwide liability and relief can be reached. Rather, establishing the unlawful discrimination alleged by plaintiffs would require determining whether class members are ‘qualified’ under the ADA, an assessment that encompasses inquiries acknowledged by the District Court to be too individualized and divergent with respect to this class to warrant certification under Rule 23(a) and (b)(2).” Put simply, “the Teamsters framework cannot, by its own force, cure this flaw in the class.” Hohider, at 43. “Accordingly, the court’s grant of class certification was an abuse of discretion.” Id.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

FedEx Class Action Defense Cases–Babineau v. Federal Express: Eleventh Circuit Affirms Denial Of Class Action Certification Of Labor Law Class Action Holding District Court Acted Within Its Discretion

District Court did not Err in Denying Class Action Treatment of Labor Law Class Action because Court did not Abuse its Discretion in Concluding that Individualized Factual Issues Concerning Gap and Break Periods Predominate over Common Issues Eleventh Circuit Holds

Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Federal Express alleging labor law violations in that FedEx allegedly “fail[ed] to pay hourly employees for all time worked”; the lawsuit has been characterized as “Round Two” because “the district court denied certification of a nationwide class of FedEx employees asserting substantially similar claims in Clausnitzer v. Federal Express Corp/, 248 F.R.D. 647 (S.D. Fla. 2008)” and then this class action was filed in an “attempt[] to address the defects identified in Clausnitzer by limiting the scope of the class….” Babineau v. Federal Express Corp., ___ F.3d ___ (11th Cir. July 27, 2009) [Slip Opn., at 1-3]. Plaintiffs moved the district court to certify the litigation as a class action, but the court denied the motion concluding that “individualized factual inquiries into whether and how long each employee worked without compensation would swamp any issues that were common to the class.” _Id._, at 2. Plaintiff’s appealed the denial of class certification, _id._ The Eleventh Circuit explained that the issue on appeal was “whether the district court abused its discretion in declining to certify the class.” _Id._ The Circuit Court held the district court acted within its discretion and affirmed.

We do not here summarize the lengthy summary of facts in the Circuit Court opinion, see Babineau, at 2-14. Nor do we address Rule 23(a)’s requirements for class action treatment, as the district court assumed that they had been satisfied. See id., at 14-15. The Eleventh Circuit immediately began its analysis with Rule 23(b)(3)’s class certification requirements. See id., at 15. The Court noted that “common issues will not predominate over individual questions if, ‘as a practical matter, the resolution of [an] overarching common issue breaks down into an unmanageable variety of individual legal and factual issues.’” Id., at 15-16 (citation omitted). In other words, “[c]ertification is inappropriate if the ‘plaintiffs must still introduce a great deal of individualized proof or argue a number of individualized legal points to establish most or all of the elements of their individual claims.’” Id., at 16 (citation omitted). Using these rules, the district court refused class action treatment because it concluded “adjudication of Plaintiffs’ claims on a class basis would be swamped by individual factual inquiries into the activities of each employee during the gap periods or during breaks.” Id. The Circuit Court addressed each in turn.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

Labor Law Class Action Defense Cases–Hernandez v. Vitamin Shoppe: California Court Affirms Order Barring Attorney In One Class Action From Contacting Class Members In Related Class Action After Class Conditionally Certified In That Action

As Matter of First Impression, Class Action Plaintiff Attorney Ethically Prohibited from Contacting Class Members in Class Action once Trial Court Conditionally Certifies Litigation as a Class Action and Appoints Class Counsel California State Court Holds

Plaintiffs filed three separate putative class action lawsuits against Vitamin Shoppe alleging labor law violations; specifically, the class action complaint alleged that defendant failed to pay employees overtime, or to provide meal and rest periods, as allowed by California law. Hernandez v. Vitamin Shoppe Ind. Inc., 174 Cal.App.4th 1441, 95 Cal.Rptr.3d 734, 737-38 (Cal.App. 2009). The Perry class action (which included appellant Lisa Hernandez as a named plaintiff) was filed in Marin County, as was the Beauford class action; the Thompson class action was filed in Orange County. Id., at 738. Plaintiff’s attorney in the Thompson class action was Jeffrey Spencer; Spencer also represented named plaintiff Hernandez in the Perry class action. Id., at 737-38. Defense attorneys offered to settle the putative class actions on a class-wide basis, provided that all three plaintiffs attended the mediation; Spencer, on behalf of the Thompson class action, refused to participate. Id., at 738. The parties reached a proposed class action settlement of the Perry class action, and Spencer – as plaintiff’s attorney in Thompson – tried unsuccessfully to coordinate the three class actions or, alternatively, to stay the Perry class action. Id. Spencer, again acting as counsel for the Thompson plaintiffs, opposed court approval of the proposed class action settlement in Perry on the grounds that the settlement “was based on erroneous factual and legal assumptions, and that it was not within a range of reasonableness.” Id. The trial court gave preliminary approval to the proposed class action settlement in Perry and appointed class counsel (not Spencer), but before the claims administrator had sent notice to the class, Spencer (acting as counsel in the Thompson class action) sent letters to Vitamin Shoppe employees urging them to opt-out of the proposed settlement in the Perry class action and to retain him as their attorney. Id., at 739. In pertinent part, the court proceedings that followed included a court order that “ordered that a corrective notice be sent, directed Spencer to refrain from any further communications with class members that he did not represent, and granted the request for monetary sanctions.” Id., at 740. Following reassignment to a new judge after Spencer successfully challenged the original trial court for bias, id., the trial court reaffirmed the court order enjoining Spencer from communicating with any class members that he did not represent, ordering a corrective notice be sent to the class (as well as a procedure for determining the impact of Spencer’s letter on class members), and imposing sanctions against Spencer, id., at 741. The appellate court affirmed the order except for the award of sanctions.

For purposes of this article, we focus on the court order prohibiting Spencer from further communication with members of the putative class and awarding sanctions. The appellate court easily found that the court order did not create any conflict with Spencer’s ethical obligation to communicate with clients because it specifically exempted communications with class members who had retained him. See Hernandez, at 743-44. On the contrary, the court order prohibited Spencer from communicating directly with individuals represented by other counsel – class counsel. The Court of Appeal also concluded that the trial court order was well within its discretionary power to oversee litigation, and “‘to protect the rights of all parties, and to prevent abuses which might undermine the proper administration of justice.’” Id., at 745 (citation omitted). In this regard, the appellate court held that the trial court’s duty to protect absent class members is “particularly pronounced” following class action certification “because class members must decide whether or not to opt out.” Id. (citation omitted). In this case, “Spencer sent his letters unilaterally, without court approval, after the court had reviewed the proposed settlement, counsel’s arguments, preliminarily approved the settlement, and ordered the claims administrator to send notice to the class.” Id. Moreover, Spencer’s letters were misleading, id., at 745-46. And finally, the Court of Appeal rejected the claim that the court order infringed on Spencer’s right to free speech, holding at page 746, “Spencer fails to establish that his constitutional free speech rights entitled him to interfere with the trial court’s duty and authority to supervise the exclusion process after conditionally certifying the class, or to contact class members for whom the court had appointed class counsel.” Accordingly, the Court affirmed the trial court orders, save for the sanction as noted below. Id., at 751.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

Labor Law Class Action Defense Cases–Vinole v. Countrywide: Ninth Circuit Affirms Order Granting Defense Motion To Deny Class Action Treatment To Labor Law Class Action

District Court did not Err in Granting Defense Motion to Deny Class Action Certification in Labor Law Class Action because Rule 23 does not Preclude Defendants from Filing such Motions, Plaintiffs had Adequate Time to Conduct Discovery, and District Court did not Abuse its Discretion in Concluding Rule 23(b)(3)’s Predominance Requirement could not be Satisfied Ninth Circuit Holds

Plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Countrywide Home Loans alleging labor law violations; the class action complaint alleged that defendant misclassified its 1,140 External Home Loan Consultants (HLCs) as “exempt” and, accordingly, failed to pay them overtime and other wages lawfully due non-exempt employees. Vinole v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 571 F.3d 935 (9th Cir. 2009) [Slip Opn., at 8299, 8303]. Plaintiffs filed the class action in California state court, but defense attorneys removed the class action to federal court. Id., at 8305. According to the allegations underlying the class action, Countrywide employs HLCs to sell loan products and pays them entirely on a commission basis. HLCs “are focused on outside sales and ‘represent Countrywide in local communities, and specifically work with realtors, builders, and other potential business partners in order to develop business relationships and obtain referral business.’” Id., at 8304. Prior to the discovery cut-off date and before plaintiffs moved for class certification, defense attorneys filed a motion to deny class action treatment. Id., at 8303. Countrywide admitted that it “applies a uniform wage exemption to HLCs,” classifying them as “exempt” outside salespeople under California law and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). See id., at 8304-05. But Countrywide asserted that it does not monitor what the HLCs do and that it “has no control over what HLCs actually do during the day”; rather, each HLC independently decides “how much, or how little time HLCs spend in the office, or working overall,” “how they want to market themselves,” and “how much money they want to make.” Id., at 8304. With respect to this last issue, the average HLC was paid more than $100,000 per year, and some earned “several hundreds of thousands of dollars,” id. Countrywide additionally introduced evidence that the amount of time individual HLCs spent in the office “varies greatly” and that it tracks only “the number and value of loans that HLCs close each month.” Id., at 8305. The district court granted Countrywide’s motion, concluding that class action treatment was not warranted. Id., at 8303. Plaintiffs appealed, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

The class action complaint alleged twelve causes of action against Countrywide, each premised on the assumption that Countrywide misclassified HLCs as exempt. Vinole, at 8305. The appeal centered on “whether the district court abused its discretion by (1) considering Countrywide’s motion to deny class certification before Plaintiffs had filed a motion to certify and prior to the pretrial and discovery cutoffs, and (2) denying class certification based on its reasoning that individual issues predominate over common issues.” Vinole, at 8303. We do not belabor the Ninth Circuit’s holding that “Rule 23 does not preclude a defendant from bringing a ‘preemptive’ motion to deny certification.” Id., at 8307. Other courts have reached a similar conclusion, and it rests on the solid observation that “[n]othing in the plain language of Rule 23(c)(1)(A) either vests plaintiffs with the exclusive right to put the class certification issue before the district court or prohibits a defendant from seeking early resolution of the class certification question.” Id., at 8307-08. In resolving this issue of first impression in the Ninth Circuit, the Court explained that “no rule or decisional authority prohibited Countrywide from filing its motion to deny certification before Plaintiffs filed their motion to certify, and Plaintiffs had ample time to prepare and present their certification argument.” Id., at 8303.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

FLSA Class Action Defense Cases–Haro v. City of Rosemead: California Court Dismisses Appeal From Denial Of Class Action Treatment Of FLSA Class Action Complaint And Reaffirms FLSA Actions Not Subject To Class Action Treatment

Putative Class Action Alleging Violations of Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) not Subject to Class Action Treatment because “Opt-In” Provision of FLSA Incompatible with “Opt-Out” Nature of California Class Action Lawsuits California State Court Holds

Plaintiffs filed a putative class action in California state court against the City of Rosemead alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); the class action complaint alleged that the City failed to pay nonexempt employees “for all hours worked.” Haro v. City of Rosemead, 174 Cal.App.4th 1067, 94 Cal.Rptr.3d 874, 876 (Cal.App. 2009). According to the allegations underlying the class action complaint, the City did not pay the employees sought to be covered by the action “the wages to which they were entitled.” Id., at 878. Plaintiffs filed a motion with the trial court to certify the litigation as a class action under California Code of Civil Procedure section 382; defense attorneys opposed class action treatment on the ground that the “opt-in” requirement of an FLSA collective action was incompatible with the “opt-out” nature of class actions under Section 382. Id. The trial court agreed and refused to certify the litigation as a class action, id., at 876; in so ruling, the court observed that plaintiffs had not sought to proceed with a “collective action” under the FLSA but, rather, as a class action under Section 382, id., at 878-79. The trial court denied also plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend their class action complaint. Id., at 876. Plaintiffs appealed both orders, and the California Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals on the grounds that the underlying trial court orders were not appealable.

The Court of Appeal began by analyzing the differences between “collective actions” under the FLSA and “class actions” under Section 382. Haro, at 876. Importantly, the FLSA requires that members of the putative class affirmatively “opt-in” to the litigation, id. (citation omitted), which has been referred to as “‘[p]robably the most significant difference in procedure between the FLSA’ and, in federal practice, class actions under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 23,” id. (citation omitted). For this reason, at least one federal circuit court has held, “There is a fundamental, irreconcilable difference between the class action described by Rule 23 and that provided for by FLSA § 16(b). In a Rule 23 proceeding a class is described; if the action is maintainable as a class action, each person within the description is considered to be a class member and, as such, is bound by judgment, whether favorable or unfavorable, unless he has ‘opted out’ of the suit. Under § 16(b) of FLSA, on the other hand, no person can become a party plaintiff and no person will be bound by or may benefit from judgment unless he has affirmatively ‘opted into’ the class; that is, given his written, filed consent.” Id., at 876-77 (quoting LaChapelle v. Owens-Illinois, Inc., 513 F.2d 286, 288 (5th Cir.1975) (footnote omitted). Moreover, “at least one California court has held that the opt-in feature cannot be adopted in California class actions.” Id., at 877 (citing Hypertouch, Inc. v. Superior Court, 128 Cal.App.4th 1527, 1550 (Cal.App. 2005). The California appellate court reaffirmed that “FLSA actions are not class actions,” id.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

Wells Fargo Class Action Defense Cases–In re Wells Fargo: Ninth Circuit Reverses Certification Of Labor Law Class Action Holding District Court Erred In Relying On Employer’s Uniform Exemption Policy To Exclusion Of Other Factors

Labor Law Class Action Certification Order Reversed because District Court Abused its Discretion in Relying on Wells Fargo’s Internal Policy of Treating Employees as Exempt “To the Near Exclusion of Other Relevant Factors Touching on Predominance” under Rule 23(b)(3) Ninth Circuit Holds

Plaintiffs filed a putative class action in California against their employer, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, alleging labor law violations; the class action complaint – brought individually and on behalf of roughly 5000 other current and former Wells Fargo home mortgage consultants (HMCs), who market and sell mortgages – alleged defendant paid HMCs by sales commission until 2005, when “Wells Fargo changed the commission system to include a minimum, non-recoverable draw against commissions.” In re Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Overtime Pay Litig., 571 F.3d 953 (9th Cir. 2009) [Slip Opn., at 8325, 8328-29]. According to the allegations underlying the class action, prior to 2005 Wells Fargo did not track the hours worked by HMCs or pay them overtime because “it treated nearly all of its HMCs as exempt from state and federal overtime requirements.” Id., at 8329. Several plaintiffs filed various putative class action lawsuits against Wells Fargo alleging state and federal labor law violations, which the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ultimately consolidated in the Northern District of California. Id. The plaintiffs in this particular California class action (Mevorah) alleged that Wells Fargo’s conduct violated California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) by violating the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), id. Plaintiffs’ counsel moved the district court to certify the litigation as a class action; defense attorneys opposed the motion in part on the ground that “individual issues predominated and that class treatment was not superior,” and “pointed to a number of exemptions under the FLSA (applicable through the UCL) and California labor law that would require individualized inquiries.” Id. The district court agreed that “individual inquiries would be necessary with respect to five exemptions: the federal outside sales exemption…, California’s outside sales exemption…, California’s commissioned sales exemption…, and the federal highly compensated employee exemption….” Id., at 8329-30. Specifically, the federal court found that these inquiries “would require an analysis of the job experiences of the individual employees, including the amount of time worked by each HMC, how they spend their time, where they primarily work, and their levels of compensation.” Id., at 8330. On the other hand, the district court concluded that common issues existed only as to two exemptions – “whether Wells Fargo qualifies as a ‘retail or service establishment’ for purposes of a federal exemption for commissioned sales…, and whether the employees earned ‘commission wages’ under California’s commissioned sales exemption….” Id. The court nonetheless granted class action treatment “relying on Wells Fargo’s uniform exemption policies,” id., at 8330-31. The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that while “uniform exemption policies” – such as “an employer’s internal policy of treating its employees as exempt from overtime laws” – is relevant to the predominance test in Rule 23(b)(3), “it is an abuse of discretion to rely on such policies to the near exclusion of other relevant factors touching on predominance.” Id., at 8328.

The Ninth Circuit explained at page 8332: “The question here is whether the district court abused its discretion in finding Rule 23(b)(3)’s predominance requirement was met based on Wells Fargo’s internal policy of treating all HMCs as exempt from state and federal overtime laws. To succeed under the abuse of discretion standard, Wells Fargo must demonstrate that the district court either (a) should not have relied on its exemption policy at all or (b) made a clear error of judgment in placing too much weight on that single factor vis-a-vis the individual issues.” The Circuit Court construed Wells Fargo’s arguments “as a challenge to the weight accorded to the internal exemption policies” in that the district court “[considered] the proper factors but committing clear error in weighing them.” In re Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, at 8332. Specifically, defense attorneys argued that the weight afforded by the district court to Wells Fargo’s exemption policy “was tantamount to estoppels.” Id., at 8332-33. The Circuit Court agreed, finding at page 8333 that the district court’s class action certification order “was clearly driven by Wells Fargo’s uniform exemption policy.” That finding, in turn, “leads to the central question: whether such heavy reliance constituted a clear error of judgment in assaying the predominance factors.” Id.

Certification of Class Actions Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

Labor Law Class Action Defense Cases–Johnson v. Arvin-Edison: California Court Affirms Dismissal Of Labor Law Class Action Against Water Storage District Holding Public Agency Exempt From State Labor Laws

Labor Law Class Action Against Water Storage District Properly Dismissed by Trial Court because Water District Subject to Federal Labor Laws but not State Labor Laws California State Court Holds Plaintiff filed a putative class action in California state court against his employer, Arvin-Edison Water Storage District (the District), alleging violations of California’s labor code; the class action complaint alleged that defendant failed to pay its employees overtime or to provide meal breaks required by California law.

Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized

T-Mobile Class Action Defense Cases–Smith v. T-Mobile: Ninth Circuit Dismisses Appeal In Labor Law Class Action Holding Settlement Of Individual FLSA Claims Without Opt-In Plaintiffs Rendered Appeal Moot

Settlement of State Labor Law Class Action and Federal Law FLSA Claims by Putative Class Action Plaintiffs, Following Denial of Conditional Certification of FLSA Collective Action and Before any Other Plaintiffs Agreed to Opt-In to Litigation, Rendered Moot Appeal from Denial of Motion for Conditional Certification Despite Effort to Preserve Right to Appeal Ninth Circuit Holds Plaintiffs Mentha Smith and Justin Gossett, former sales representatives of T-Mobile, filed a putative class action against T-Mobile USA purportedly on behalf of 25,000 workers alleging labor law violations; specifically, the class action complaint “alleged that T-Mobile willfully failed to pay its hourly employees for all the hours they worked, forcing employees to work ‘off the clock’ and denying pay for hours worked during breaks.

Class Action Court Decisions Employment Law Class Actions Uncategorized