Tag Archives: “Gender discrimination”

Ninth Circuit (Barely) Acknowledges the Dukes Case in Discrimination Class Action Litigation

By Greg Mersol on January 13, 2020 Posted in Discrimination

Ten years ago, the Ninth Circuit upheld the certification of a sprawling nationwide class action in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., only to see that decision overturned a year later by the Supreme Court. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011). In the intervening decade, the Supreme Court similarly up-ended the Ninth … Continue Reading

Pattern-or-Practice Claim Doesn’t Trump Arbitration Agreement – Karp v. CIGNA Healthcare Inc.

By John Lewis on April 23, 2012 Posted in Arbitration, Discrimination

Once again a court has been required to consider whether a federal statutory claim might limit the reach of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et. seq. (“FAA”), and prevent arbitration of an individual discrimination claim. This twenty-two-page decision reflects the on-going struggle by plaintiffs to discover potential exceptions to the U.S. Supreme … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Remands Sex Discrimination Case in Light of Dukes

By Greg Mersol on September 20, 2011 Posted in Class Certification, Discrimination

If there was a case that might indicate what the Ninth Circuit would do in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes.pdf, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), it was that of Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Case No. CV-04-3341-MHP (N.D. Cal.). The Ellis case was, like Dukes, a putative … Continue Reading

The Dukes Decision Does Not Apply To Overtime Misclassification Claims

By Greg Mersol on June 16, 2010 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