Tag Archives: “Rule 23(b)”

New York District Court Dismisses Putative ERISA Class Alleging Illegal Kickbacks

By Greg Mersol on March 5, 2014 Posted in ERISA, Rule 23

Sometimes in the rush to meet Rule 23(a) and (b)’s requirements, what gets overlooked is whether there is any underlying claim in the first place. In a refreshing opinion, the Southern District of New York disposed of a claimed ERISA class action for the reason that, irrespective of any class allegations, the defendant was not … Continue Reading

California District Court Denies Certification for Failing to Comply with Schedule

By Greg Mersol on August 2, 2012 Posted in Class Certification

It is black letter law that the decision whether to certify a class lies within the District Court’s discretion. Of course, the court must be able to control its docket and to make appropriate decisions as to time, case management logistics, and a host of similar issues. Some of these issues are echoed in the … Continue Reading

California District Court Denies Certification of Second Wage and Hour Class in Less than a Month: Early Bird Catches the Worm, but Doesn’t Like the Taste

By Greg Mersol on December 19, 2011 Posted in Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

Maryland staffing corporation Aerotek Scientific, LLC (“Aerotek”), allegedly required its employees who worked at one of its call centers in California to arrive at work at least ten minutes before the beginning of their shifts to log into their computers and be at the ready to receive calls at the immediate start of their shifts. While … Continue Reading

California District Court Denies Certification of Wage and Hour Class: Court Thwarts Effort to Punish a Good Deed

By Greg Mersol on November 15, 2011 Posted in FLSA, Overtime Claims, Wage and Hour

An employer permits its employees to trade shifts voluntarily. A nice favor, right? Unfortunately, there are claimants ready to assert class action wage and hour claims when the employees’ own decisions create potential overtime issues. In Lessard v. Skywest Airlines, Inc., Case No. 2:11-cv-03769-JHN-VBK (C.D. Cal. Oct. 24, 2011), the plaintiffs were former ticket agents … Continue Reading

South Carolina Court Certifies Race Discrimination Action

By Greg Mersol on March 7, 2011 Posted in Discrimination, Rule 23, Wage and Hour

As many of the postings in this blog reflect, there has been a veritable flood of class and collective actions asserting wage and hour violations. But even apart from Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 603 F.3d 571 (9th Cir.), cert. granted, 131 S.Ct. 795 (2010), now pending before the United States Supreme Court, discrimination cases … Continue Reading