Private Attorney General Act

Another employee of the same defendant employer is not entitled to intervene as of right in a PAGA suit brought by a different employee of that employer in order to challenge the settlement to which the latter employee and the employer have agreed.  To intervene as of right under FRCivP 24(a)(2), a party must show (among other things) that his… Read More

The FAA does not preempt California law insofar as it invalidates a waiver of an employee's right to bring PAGA claims arising out of Labor Code violations that affected the plaintiff employee.  However, the FAA does preempt California law (Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348 and progeny) insofar as it precludes waiver of the employee's… Read More

The common law rule of exclusive concurrent jurisdiction applies to PAGA suits.  Nothing in the PAGA statutes clearly or unequivocally evince an intent to abrogate that well-established rule in PAGA suits.  Absence of an express first-filed suit requirement in the statute is insufficient to show such an intent.  Invoking the exclusive concurrent jurisdiction rule, the trial court properly stayed this… Read More

Plaintiff employee's initial complaint sought individual and class relief for Labor Code violations as well as PAGA claims for statutory penalties for the same violations.  After defendant employer moved to compel arbitration, plaintiff amended the complaint to delete the individual and class claims, leaving only the PAGA claims.  This decision holds that the amendment was effective to avoid arbitration.  Under… Read More

PAGA suits are not arbitrable. Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC (2014) 59 Cal.4th 348 was not overruled by Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (2018) 138 S.Ct. 1612 or Kindred Nursing Centers Ltd. Partnership v. Clark (2017) 137 S.Ct. 1421, neither of which involved the issue that Iskanian addressed. Read More

The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that neither party prevailed or was entitled to an attorney fee award under the Davis-Stirling Act (Civ. Code 5975(e)) or the private attorney general statute (CCP 1021.5) in this suit by a condo owner against the condo association.  Although plaintiff obtained a preliminary injunction and prevailed in forcing the condo… Read More

Disagreeing with Wesson v. Staples The Office Superstore, LLC (2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 746, this decision holds that a court may not dismiss PAGA claims on the ground they are unmanageable.  However, it may control the trial by limiting the amount of proof the plaintiff may introduce--thus, potentially reducing the amount of collectible PAGA penalties, but not dismissing the action altogether. Read More

Before filing a PAGA suit, a plaintiff must send a pre-suit notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the employer describing the facts and theories to support the alleged violation. Lab. Code 2699.3.  This decision holds that at least when the notice reveals a violation that is likely to have affected more workers than the individual prospective plaintiff… Read More

The plaintiff's alleged failure to give adequate pre-suit notice to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the employer before filing a PAGA suit is an affirmative defense which the employer waives either by not pleading it in the answer or by, even if so pleaded, not pursuing it as a defense by pretrial motion or at trial. Read More

Labor Code sections 558 and 1197.1, allow the Labor Commissioner to sue for set civil penalties in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages if an employer fails to pay overtime wages or minimum wages as required by California law.  This decision holds that in a PAGA suit, the employee plaintiff may recover only the set civil penalty… Read More

Putative class representatives were not entitled to intervene in a parallel class action to object to settlement as they could preserve their rights by opting out or by objecting to the settlement and moving to vacate judgment approving the settlement. Read More

A voluntary association of retirees with about 500 members was entitled to a Private Attorney General Act attorney fee award because the association vindicated important rights of a substantial group of the public and this was just the sort of suit to vindicate rights the recipients couldn't afford to pay for on their own. Read More

A PAGA pre-suit notice of a Labor Code violation need not meet pleading standards or include evidence, but it must include sufficient detail to give the employer adequate notice of the nature of the violation. Read More

An employee who has been affected by one Labor Code violation by the employer may bring a Private Attorney General Act suit against the employer for civil penalties based on all Labor Code violations committed by the employer.  Read More

To collect damages from an employer for failure to provide proper wage statements, an employee must show actual injury, which is not possible if omitted information is easily calculated from information the wage statement properly discloses; but no actual injury need be shown for the employee to recover civil penalties from the employer in a Private Attorney General Act suit… Read More

Plaintiff which had prevailed in reversing six of eight zoning code variances the city council granted Target was a successful party entitled to a Private Attorney General fee award even if the city council later amended the zoning code to permit Target to build its store. Read More

Investors were entitled to a Private Attorney General fee award for their opposition to the State’s settlement with a securities fraudster; the opposition triggered changes in the settlement that benefited the public. Read More

An award of Private Attorney General fees is barred by Joshua S. only when the non-prevailing party pursued only its own private interest, had no institutional interest in the legal principle established in the case, and was not responsible, in whole or in part, for the practice or policy that gave rise to the litigation. Read More