In Leyva v. Medline Industries, Inc., a Central District's denial of class certification was overturned this week by the Ninth Circuit. In Leyva, the putative class was a group of employees working at Medline's warehouses. The class action alleged that Medline improperly rounded their start times that resulted in class members not being paid for time worked and that bonuses were not incorporated into class members' regular rate calculation.
A Bad Week For Safeway
When it rains it pours. And for Safeway they've been on the bad side of two decisions with large implications in class actions.
Wage and hour claims could become class action matter
A recently filed lawsuit against a Southern California trucking company is asking that the matter receive class action status. The complaint comes from two brothers who were hired as truck drivers for the company. At the heart of the matter is the manner in which the company classifies its drivers, insisting that they are independent contractors and not employees. As a result, the trucking company can avoid wage and hour claims based on regulations designed to ensure that employees are properly compensated.
Gonzalez v. Downtown LA Motors
Faulkinbury v. Boyd & Associates, Inc.
The California Appellate Court continues to strengthen its jurisprudence for meal and rest break class actions in the wake of Brinker. In Faulkinbury v. Boyd & Associates, Inc., the Appellate Court reversed its prior order affirming the trial court's denial of certification of meal and rest break claims. The previous opinion focused on the employer's use of on-duty meal agreements with the putative class of security guards.
Petersen v. Boeing Company
I missed an interesting decision out of the Ninth Circuit in April. In Petersen v. Boeing Company, the Ninth Circuit confronted an interesting issue regarding arbitration clauses. Plaintiff was hired as a flight instructor by a subsidiary of Boeing in Saudi Arabia.
Depakote falls from Category D to X with IQ side effect
If you ask any parent what they want most for their child, many would respond that they simply hope that their child grows up as happy and healthy as possible. Parents in Los Angeles will do everything that they can to keep their child safe, but they don't have complete control. Parents must also put their trust in others to uphold this same duty.
Veterans Affairs office may rethink generic drug contract
Consumers are given a choice when purchasing pharmaceutical drugs. They can either purchase the more expensive advertised drug or the generic option. Take Lipitor for example; there are many generic options available. A generic medication has a similiar chemical structure, so why not? The decision may seem simple, but it is a lot more difficult than one might think.
Dietary supplements promise weight loss but harm health
A recent post in our Los Angeles Class Actions Blog shared a report discussing the top contributors to consumer fraud. Dietary supplements that promised impossible results were one of the biggest violators of consumer rights named in the statistical survey.
