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After nearly 8 years of litigation, the Court of Appeals of Oregon recently affirmed the decertification of a class of between 600 to 1900 former U.S. Bank employees who claimed they were not timely paid after their termination. <a href="http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/A138636.htm">Belknap v. U.S. Bank Nat&rsquo;l Ass&rsquo;n, 235 Ore. App. 658 (2010)</a>. Following extensive discovery, the court found that the previously certified class of &ldquo;former employees who gave 48 hours or more notice of intent to terminate employment and who were not paid timely pursuant to the statute&rdquo; was properly decertified where, among other things: 1) the plaintiffs failed to present a viable trial plan; 2) individual questions of facts would require numerous witnesses to be called; 3) in virtually all cases, the resolution of one individual&rsquo;s factual issues would have no impact on resolving another plaintiff&rsquo;s claim; and 4) the court could not conceive of a subclass that would eliminate these problems.
The bottom line: This case illustrates that while courts may be initially willing to certify an extensive wage class, an employer&rsquo;s ability to demonstrate the immense difficulty in actually trying such a case can be an extremely persuasive tool in decertification briefing.

Oregon Court of Appeals Affirms Decertification of Wage Suit