Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Second Circuit Affirms Expansion of Gender Bias Class Action against Sterling Jewelers

November 25, 2019

On November 18, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived a potentially sweeping class action against Sterling Jewelers, Inc. (“Sterling”), holding that potentially tens of thousands of female employees could take part in an arbitration class involving claims of sex discrimination. The Second Circuit’s holding is the latest in the case Jock v. Sterling Jewelers, Inc., an ongoing saga that has bounced between arbitration, the Southern District of New York,…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Ninth Circuit Affirms Denial of Class Certification for Wage and Hour Claims on Predominance Grounds

By Edward Young & Mark W. Batten

October 15, 2019

On October 4, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed rulings by the District Court for the Northern District of California to decertify a rest break subclass and to deny class certification of meal break and off-the-clock subclasses in a long-running case brought by AutoZone employees. In re: AutoZone, Inc., Wage and Hour Employment Practices Litigation, Case No. 3:10-md-02159-CRB. Background Plaintiffs brought suit on behalf of a putative class of approximately 30,000 employees challenging…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

District of Massachusetts Grants Class Certification but denies Summary Judgment in Independent Contractor Misclassification Case

By Gillian Egan & Stacey Cerrone

September 27, 2019

On September 13, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted certification of a class of independent contractor drivers who delivered packages through Dynamex Operations East for Google Express. Ouadani v. Dynamex Operations East LLC, No. 16-12036, 2019 WL 4384061 (D. Mass. Sept. 13, 2019). Ouadani, a delivery driver, sued Dynamex on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, alleging he was misclassified as an independent contractor in violation of federal…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

California Supreme Court Hands Employers A Rare Victory, Trims Bloated PAGA Claims

By Tony Oncidi, Andrew Sherwood, Kate Gold & Philippe A. Lebel

September 16, 2019

Last week, the California Supreme Court held that private litigants may not recover unpaid wages under the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). See ZB, N.A. v. Superior Court (Lawson) (Cal. S. Ct. Sept. 12, 2019). In a rearguard effort to fight employment arbitration agreements, which usually include class action waivers, plaintiffs’ lawyers have been routinely filing PAGA representative actions in an effort to stay in court and out of arbitration. Plaintiffs relied on Thurman …

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

NLRB Greenlights Aggressive Response to Class Action Filings

By Jacob L. Hirsch & Mark W. Batten

September 6, 2019

On August 14, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) held that employers may require employees to waive their right to join class and collective actions – even after a claim has been filed in court – without running afoul of federal labor law. Cordua Restaurants, Inc., Cases 16-CA-160901, 16-CA-161380, 16-CA-170940, and 16-CA-173451. Background Cordua Restaurants had an arbitration agreement in its employment contracts that required employees to waive their right to pursue class…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Second Circuit Compels Individual Arbitration of Putative Class FLSA and State Labor Law Claims

By Myron Rumeld & Rachel Therese Gulotta

July 11, 2019

On July 2, 2019, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit reversed the lower court’s denial of a motion to compel individual arbitration of a putative class action suit brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and New York Labor Law (“NYLL”). Abdullayeva v. Attending Homecare Services, LLC, d/b/a Attending Home Care, No. 18-651. The decision is significant in that it furthers a trend in favor of enforcing individual arbitration agreements that have the…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

How Do Individualized Issues Impact a Class Action Settlement?

By Andrew A. Smith & Steven Hurd

June 12, 2019

The Ninth Circuit went a long way towards answering that question in an en banc decision last week. The key takeaway is that a district court certifying a class for settlement purposes does not have to conduct the same “rigorous analysis” of manageability considerations required when certifying a class for litigation. The decision has major implications, not only for class action settlements but also for cases where class certification is contested. The In re Hyundai …

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

U. S. Supreme Court Holds that Third-Party Defendants to Counterclaims Cannot Remove Class Actions to Federal Court

By Elise M. Bloom & Noa Baddish

June 5, 2019

In a 5-4 decision in Home Depot U.S.A. Inc., v. Jackson, 587 U.S. __ (2019), the United States Supreme Court held that a third-party counterclaim defendant does not qualify as a “defendant” under the general removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) or under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) and therefore cannot remove class action claims to federal court under either statute. Brief Background This case started when a bank filed a debt…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Northern District of New York Denies Class Certification and Decertifies Collective, Confirming Common Answers Not Common Questions Are Required

By Nicole Eichberger & Samantha Shear

May 3, 2019

On April 26, 2019, the Northern District of New York held that a group of Plaintiffs failed to satisfy their burden to establish commonality and predominance under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 and failed to sustain their burden that they were similarly situated to continue as a FLSA collective with respect to their misclassification claims under state and federal law. Jan P. Holick Jr., et al. v. Cellular Sales of New York, LLC, Case No.…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

United States Supreme Court Says Courts Cannot Compel Classwide Arbitration Absent Affirmative Contractual Agreement

By Elise M. Bloom, Hayley H. Fritchie & Noa Baddish

April 25, 2019

In a 5-4 decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts on April 24, 2019, the United States Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) precludes a court from compelling class arbitration when an agreement is ambiguous on the availability of such arbitration. Lamps Plus Inc. et al. v. Varela, No. 17-988, 587 U.S. ___ (2019). In doing so, the Court reversed a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit…

Proskauer on Class and Collective Actions

Blog Authors

Second Circuit Affirms Expansion of Gender Bias Class Action against Sterling Jewelers

Ninth Circuit Affirms Denial of Class Certification for Wage and Hour Claims on Predominance Grounds

District of Massachusetts Grants Class Certification but denies Summary Judgment in Independent Contractor Misclassification Case

California Supreme Court Hands Employers A Rare Victory, Trims Bloated PAGA Claims

NLRB Greenlights Aggressive Response to Class Action Filings

Second Circuit Compels Individual Arbitration of Putative Class FLSA and State Labor Law Claims

How Do Individualized Issues Impact a Class Action Settlement?

U. S. Supreme Court Holds that Third-Party Defendants to Counterclaims Cannot Remove Class Actions to Federal Court

Northern District of New York Denies Class Certification and Decertifies Collective, Confirming Common Answers Not Common Questions Are Required

United States Supreme Court Says Courts Cannot Compel Classwide Arbitration Absent Affirmative Contractual Agreement

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