Tag Archives: “Class certification”

California District Court Denies Certification of Off-the-Clock Case

Photo of Greg MersolBy Greg Mersol on Posted in Off-the-clock
We’ve commented in the past that off-the-clock cases can make poor candidates for class certification, particularly when the employer’s policies require that employees perform work only while clocked in. A recent case involving a decade-old dispute again illustrates the basic problems with these kinds of claims. In Troester v. Starbucks Corp., Case No. CV 12-07677-CJC(PJWx) … Continue Reading

California Court of Appeal Concludes Practice Is More Important Than Policy for Class Certification

Photo of Joseph S. PersoffBy Joseph S. Persoff on Posted in Class Certification
A California Court of Appeal issued a Christmas Eve ruling setting out the significance of a written employment policy for class certification purposes. In Cacho v. Eurostar, Inc., the court held that a correct, yet incomplete, meal break policy does not support class certification, absent other evidence suggesting that common, rather than individual, issues predominate. The court … Continue Reading

Northern District of California Certifies Part of a Class Against Uber

Photo of Greg MersolBy Greg Mersol on Posted in Class Certification, Independent Contractors
Much is being reported in the media about the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California certifying a class of drivers for the Uber ride service who contended that they were employees, not independent contractors.  O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Case No. C-13-3826 EMC (September 1, 2015). The case … Continue Reading

District Court Refuses to Certify Class of “Non-Liturgical” Protestant Navy Chaplains

Photo of Greg MersolBy Greg Mersol on Posted in Class Certification
Given the rich diversity and array of religions, and the First Amendment prohibitions both on the establishment of religion and impeding the free exercise of religion, the appointment and promotion of chaplains in the military has to be a singularly daunting task.  Those same difficulties ultimately proved to be the unraveling of a class challenging … Continue Reading

The California Court of Appeal Disregards Differences Among Cell Phone Plans; Orders Reconsideration of Refusal to Certify Class Seeking Reimbursement of Employee Expenses

Photo of Vartan MadoyanBy Vartan Madoyan on Posted in Class Certification
We are now seeing “bring your own device policies” in the class action context, and at least one court has glossed over differences among cell phone plans and usage to leave open the possibility of certifying a class in that context. In Cochran v. Schwan’s Home Service, Inc., Case No. B247160 (Cal. App. 2d Dist., … Continue Reading

Cullen v. State Farm – The Ohio Supreme Court Returns to Rule 23 Issues

Photo of John LewisBy John Lewis on Posted in Class Certification, Rule 23
This blog post was co-authored by: Patrick T. Lewis, Michael D. Meuti and Robert J. Tucker On November 5, 2013, the Supreme Court of Ohio adopted the class certification principles announced in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes and Comcast v. Behrend.  In Cullen v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. … Continue Reading

Stammco, L.L.C. v. United Tel. Co. of Ohio, Addressing Rule 23 Requirements for Class Certification in Ohio

Photo of John LewisBy John Lewis on Posted in Class Certification, Rule 23
After eight years and two visits, the Ohio Supreme Court has issued an opinion that not only addresses key developments in federal class action jurisprudence, but also decided the underlying class certification question.  The resulting opinion will have a major impact on Ohio class action law in all substantive areas, but will certainly impact employment … Continue Reading

Dukes Of Hazard: Uniform Auto-Deduct Meal/Break Policy Insufficient to Establish 23(a)(2) Commonality

Photo of Todd DawsonBy Todd Dawson on Posted in Meal and Rest Periods, Rule 23
The Supreme Court’s Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes opinion has once again played Bo and Luke to a plaintiff’s Boss Hogg. The plaintiffs in Raposo v. Garelick Farms LLC, Case No. 11-11943, D. Mass. (July 11, 2013), were truck drivers who made deliveries out of two locations operated by a dairy distribution company.  The company … Continue Reading

Domino’s Pizza Drivers Fail to Deliver Common Circumstances to the Eighth Circuit

Photo of Greg MersolBy Greg Mersol on Posted in Class Certification
Authored by: Ericka Spears Despite their work uniforms and company cars, pizza delivery drivers do not have much in common (at least according to the Eighth Circuit). Recently, in Luiken v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, No. 12-1216, 2013 WL 399248 (8th Cir. Feb. 4, 2013), the court found that a purported class of 1600 Domino’s Pizza … Continue Reading

Comcast Oral Argument Raises Interesting Questions Surrounding the Application of Daubert to Class Certification

Photo of John LewisBy John Lewis on Posted in Class Certification
On November 5, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Comcast Corporation v. Behrend, No. 11-864 which arose from an action brought by Philadelphia cable subscribers alleging that Comcast monopolized Philadelphia’s cable market and excluded competition in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-2.  Transcript of the … Continue Reading

Comcast Corporation Appeal Will Permit Justices to Examine Class Certification issues Post-Wal-Mart v. Dukes

Photo of John LewisBy John Lewis on Posted in Class Certification
On June 25, 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide “[w]hether a district court may certify a class action without resolving whether the . . . class has introduced admissible evidence, including expert testimony, to show that the case is susceptible to awarding damages on a class-wide basis.” See Court’s Proceedings and Orders. This … Continue Reading

California Appeals Court Finds Plaintiffs’ Counsel Inadequate, Upholds Denial of Class Certification Motion

Photo of Gilbert BroskyBy Gilbert Brosky on Posted in Meal and Rest Periods, Wage and Hour
It’s bad enough that a plaintiff’s attorney loses a motion to certify a class – it must be even worse when the reason the motion is denied is the attorney’s own failure to plead his case properly.  A recent California court of appeals decision affirmed the denial of a California meal and rest break class … Continue Reading

The Dukes Decision Does Not Apply To Overtime Misclassification Claims

Photo of Greg MersolBy Greg Mersol on Posted in Class Certification, Discrimination, FLSA, Overtime Claims, Title VII
In the weeks following April 26, 2010, en banc decision of a deeply divided Ninth Circuit in Dukes v Wal-Mart Stores.pdf, 603 F.3d 571 (9th Cir. 2010), plaintiffs have predictably argued that the opinion justifies the certification of classes of virtually any size, including those in the overtime/misclassification arena. The case, however, does not apply … Continue Reading
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