A special section of our site dedicated to class actions, collective actions, and impact litigation. Featuring selected court cases, news stories, firms, case websites, and cy pres awards.
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In the Courts
Allen v. McWane Inc., No. 08-41037
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals | Decision Date: January 11, 2010
In an action under the Fair Labor Standards Act seeking payment for pre- and post-shift time spent donning and doffing protective gear, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where, at each plant at issue, there existed a custom or practice of not compensating pre- or post- shift time spent putting on and taking off protective gear. Read the decision.
Narouz v. Charter Comms., LLC
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals | Decision Date: January 15, 2010
In a class action for unpaid wages, the district court's denial of the parties' motion to certify a class for settlement purposes is vacated where: 1) the voluntary dismissal by a class representative of his personal claims in a putative class action lawsuit did not render moot his appeal of the denial of class certification; and 2) the district court erred in denying class certification without providing any findings or providing any analysis of the Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 factors. Read the decision.
In the News
Top Age-Hour Class Action Settlements Soared in 2009
The top 10 private wage-and-hour settlements paid or agreed to in 2009 under the Fair Labor Standards Act totaled $363.6 million, a 43.9% increase from 2008, according to an annual report released this month. Read the full story.
Local Contractor Shells Out Cash to Settle Wage Class Action Suit
Rockville based contractor Hann & Hann will pay $600,000 plus the plaintffs' legal fees to settle a wage and overtime based class action suit. As reported in the Washington Post by Rubin Castaneda on January 30, 2010, Hann & Hann agreed to pay overtime plus 50% for every employee working with the company not paid overtime between May 8, 2006 and May 8 2008. Read the full story.
After 10 Years, Age-Bias Suit Ends in Changed Hollywood
The $70 million settlement last week of a class-action age discrimination lawsuit brought by 165 television writers would appear to provide some solace to those who have long contended that they have been ignored by television studios, producers and agents merely because they are, to put it bluntly, old. Read the full story.
Village of Mineola and Mineola Fire Department Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Suit
The Incorporated Village of Mineola, N.Y., and the Mineola Fire Department will pay $237,072 to settle a class age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The damages will be made in retroactive payments to a group of 25 firefighters who had been discriminated against based on their age and provide increased monthly pension amounts going forward to several firefighters. Read the full story.
Featured Firms
Levy Ratner, P.C.
For more than 35 years, Levy Ratner has represented unions and working people. Our dedicated and experienced attorneys are committed to expanding workers’ rights through union organizing, collective bargaining, litigation, and the political process. Through hands-on and individualized representation, and an unwavering commitment to social justice, we consistently provide our clients with progressive, high-quality, cost-effective representation. Visit our website at www.levyratner.com/.
Migrant Farmworker Justice Project
Established by Florida Legal Services in 1996 and funded by the Florida Bar Foundation, the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project is committed to ensuring that the full range of legal advocacy is available to the 300,000 farmworkers who work in Florida’s fields and groves through innovation, law reform, legislative and administrative advocacy, and class actions. Visit our website at www.floridalegal.org/migrant.htm.
Sprenger + Lang
Sprenger + Lang has a long history of achieving our clients' goals no matter how formidable the obstacles or opposition. With experience in a wide assortment of high stakes litigation, contract negotiations and client counseling situations, our tenacious, creative and resourceful attorneys and professional staff deliver results. Our unyielding client advocacy extends from the courtroom to the boardroom. Our national reputation for achieving results for our clients is based on professionalism, substantial knowledge and experience in our practice areas, and integrity. We look forward to every opportunity to assist our clients in beating the odds and achieving results. Visit our website at www.sprengerlang.com.
Case Websites
TV Writers Age Cases
http://www.tvwriterscounsel.com/home.html
Hester v. Vision Airlines Class Notice
http://media.lasvegassun.com/media/pdfs/blogs/documents/2010/01/10/visionclass0110.pdf
Sixth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report
The sixth annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by Seyfarth Shaw LLP, one of America’s leading full-service law firms, analyzes class action and collective action court rulings of 2009 involving claims against employers in federal and state courts. The key class action and collective action settlements over the past year are also analyzed, both in terms of gross settlement dollars in private plaintiff and government-initiated lawsuits, as well as injunctive relief provisions in consent decrees. The report analyzes 715 decisions in its comprehensive analysis of class action litigation rulings.
Cy Pres Awards
Ohio Lawyers Give Back
Ohio Lawyers Give Back was founded by Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A. to promote the use of cy pres in class action settlements. When a class action is settled, plaintiff and defendant agree to a fund amount to pay all class members. Since many class members have moved, passed-away, or can't be found, millions of settlement dollars go unclaimed. That settlement money is intended to benefit the class—rather than revert to the wrongdoing defendant—so the ancient doctrine is now being used to distribute the unclaimed money to charities and non profits.
Leonard v. Southtec (Sanford, Wittels & Heisler LLP and Jerry Gonzalez, PLC)
David Sanford of Sanford, Wittels & Heisler LLP and Jerry Gonzalez, PLC successfully prosecuted a class action case against L&W Engineering and Southtec, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Case No. 3:04-0072. The allegations were that Southtec, a subsidiary of L&W Engineering, systematically excluded African Americans and Hispanics from consideration for employment and promotion. After much litigation, the parties were able to mediate the case and the defendants entered into a consent decree and agreed to pay a confidential amount in settlement of all claims. 143 claims for wrongful discrimination based upon race or ethnic origin were paid out, and a remainder reserved for a cy pres award to nonprofit organizations which advocate for the rights of employees. Workplace Fairness received an award in the amount of $32,568.41.
