The Northern District granted a putative class representative’s motion to compel timecard and payroll records for all employees in Valenzuela v. MC2 Pool & Spa, et al., No. C09-01698 RS (HRL), 2010 WL 3489596 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 3, 2010).
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The Central District remanded a putative minimum wage and overtime class action suit in Munoz v. Central Parking Sys., Inc., No. CV 10-6172 PA (RCx), 2010 WL 3432239 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 30, 2010) (unpublished).
Plaintiff’s Complaint attempted to avoid removal, stating “[i]t is believed that the total sum owed to the Class alleged herein is less than $5 million, based upon the anticipated size of the Class and the amount in controversy for each member of the Class.” Id. *1. Read the rest of this entry »
On Friday, plaintiffs submitted their unopposed motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement in the In re Google Buzz User Privacy Litigation, Case No. 5:10-CV-00672-JW, Docket No. 41 (N.D. Cal. Motion Date Sept. 3, 2010). The settlement calls for an $8.5 million cy pres fund, but no award to individual class members, other than $2,500 incentive awards to lead plaintiffs.
Plaintiff alleged the following: Read the rest of this entry »
The court in Adoma v. University of Phoenix, Inc., No. CIV. S-10-0059 LKK/GGH, 2010 WL 3431804 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2010 (slip op.) held that even where plaintiff’s proposed method of “reconstructing records of hours worked . . . will be imperfect”, plaintiffs may rely on “a few representative inquiries whose results will be extrapolated to the class.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Southern District of California in Soto v. Diakon Logistics (Delaware), Inc., Civil No. 08cv33-L(AJB), 2010 WL 3420779 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 30, 2010) denied class certification for, inter alia, failure to include in plaintiffs’ counsel’s declaration a statement that counsel are free from conflicts of interest and failure to address all the issues the court must consider for appointment of class counsel. Read the rest of this entry »
The Southern District of California granted a stay of proceedings pending appeal of the trial court’s refusal to compel class-wide arbitration. Del Rio v. CreditAnswers, LLC, No. 10cv346-WQH-BLM, 2010 WL 3418430 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 26, 2010) (slip op.). Read the rest of this entry »
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California rejected defendant’s argument that Stolt-Nielson preempted Gentry, and the court held that a class-wide arbitration agreement was unenforceable as against an unpaid wage and overtime plaintiff. Mathias v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., Civ. No. S-10-1476 LKK/KJM, 2010 WL 3715059 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 15, 2010) (slip op.).
Background
Ryan Mathias (“Mathias” or “plaintiff”) was employed by Rent-A-Center, Inc. (“RAC” or “defendant”) as an Assistant Manager, a position that was classified as a non-exempt or hourly position. Id. *1. As a condition of employment, plaintiff executed an arbitration agreement (“Agreement”), which Agreement contained a class action waiver and excluded arbitration private attorney general actions. Id. Plaintiff filed a class action alleging eight claims arising from his employment with defendant, including claims for unpaid wages and overtime, unpaid rest and meal period premiums, and penalties arising from non-compliant wage statements under the California Labor Code and California Business and Professions Code. Id. Read the rest of this entry »
In Weiss v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals et al., No. B215901,2010 WL 3387220 (Cal. Ct. App. 2d Dist. Aug. 30, 2010), the Second District affirmed denial of class certification and summary judgment in favor of defendants relating to the alleged deceptive marketing of the prescription drug Nexium.
The Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, held that plaintiffs in a securities fraud class action failed to meet the PSLRA’s heightened pleading requirements where the complaint did not contain factual allegations sufficient to demonstrate that the Defendants’ statements regarding a marketing initiative were untrue. In re Jones Soda Company Securities Litigation, No. 09-35732, 2010 WL 3394274 (9th Cir. Aug. 30, 2010). Read the rest of this entry »
Professor Benjamin Spencer’s Federal Civil Practice Bulletin links to an essay by Professor Richard Nagareda entitled Common Answers for Class Certification. The essay focuses on Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Prof. Nagareda argues that the Supreme Court should review and reverse the Dukes opinion because of a “crucial conceptual error in Dukes: the majority’s confusion between motions for class certification and the motion that really does regulate the relationship between the court and the fact finder (summary judgment).” Read the rest of this entry »
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