Law | CALIFORNIA CLASS ACTION LAW

September 17, 2010

Ninth Circuit Holds That “Crux of Complaint” Rule Allows Courts to Decide Arbitrability Even Where Plaintiff Fails to Raise Challenge to Arbitrability as a Distinct Claim in Complaint

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether the “crux of the complaint” rule requires the question of arbitrability to be determined by the arbitrator when a plaintiff’s challenge to the arbitration clause does not appear in his complaint. Bridge Fund Capital Corporation v. Fastbucks Franchise Corporation, No. 08-17071, 2010 WL 3584060 (9th Cir. Sept. 16, 2010). The court held that “as long as the plaintiff’s challenge to the validity of an arbitration clause is a distinct question from the validity of the contract as a whole, the question of arbitrability is for the court to decide regardless of whether the specific challenge to the arbitration clause is raised as a distinct claim in the complaint.” Id. *1. Read the rest of this entry »

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September 12, 2010

Northern District Rejects Defendant’s Motion to Communicate Ex Parte With Class Members

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The Northern District denied a class defendant’s request to communicate ex parte with class members. Kirola v. City and County of San Francisco, No. C 07-03685 SBA, 2010 WL 3505041 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 7, 2010). Defendant City and County of San Francisco (“City”) brought an administrative motion, seeking authorization to communicate with eight specific class members. Id. The City contended that free communication with these individuals is essential to allow the City to prepare adequately for trial. Id. The City sought to “present their testimony at trial in order to establish its policies and practices regarding physical access, which is the core issue in this case.” Id. Read the rest of this entry »

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September 10, 2010

Northern District Rejects Collateral Estoppel, Finding Sufficient Difference in Allegedly Misleading Statements

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The Northern District denied a motion to strike class allegations from a putative class action complaint, finding sufficient difference between the allegedly deceptive statements in the prior case and the present case to reject defendant’s collateral estoppel contentions. Murray v. Sears, Roebuck and Co., No. 09-05744 CW, 2010 WL 3490214 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 3, 2010) (slip op.). Read the rest of this entry »

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September 9, 2010

Northern District Grants Pre-certification Class Discovery

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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). Read the rest of this entry »

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September 7, 2010

Central District Remands Class Action for Defendant’s Failure to Prove Amount in Controversy Under CAFA

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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 »

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September 6, 2010

Eastern District Holds That Plaintiffs May Rely on a “Few Representative Inquiries” and Extrapolate to the Class

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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 »

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September 6, 2010

Southern District Denies Class Certification on Adequacy of Counsel Grounds

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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 »

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September 3, 2010

Southern District Grants Stay Pending Appeal of Denial of Class-Wide Arbitration

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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 »

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September 2, 2010

Eastern District Holds That Stolt-Nielsen Does Not Preempt Gentry

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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 »

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September 1, 2010

Ninth Circuit Holds That Optimistic Statements & “Poor Business Decisions” Fail to Satisfy PLSRA’s Heightened Pleading Standards

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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 »

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