The Nethercutt Collection v. Regalia, 172 Cal. App. 4th 361 (2009)
Michael Regalia sued The Nethercutt Collection for wrongful termination and slander after he was terminated as its president. The jury rejected the wrongful termination claim, but awarded Regalia $750,000 in damages for “assumed harm” to his reputation arising from two statements attributable to the employer: (1) that Regalia had demanded a commission or
World Fin. Group, Inc. v. HBW Ins. & Fin. Services, Inc., 172 Cal. App. 4th 1561 (2009)
WFG filed a complaint against its direct competitor, HBW, and six of its agents for alleged breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, conversion, unfair competition, interference with prospective economic advantage and unjust enrichment. In response, HBW filed a motion to dismiss the complaint as a SLAPP
Phillips v. TLC Plumbing, Inc., 172 Cal. App. 4th 1133 (2009)
Trisha Phillips, the daughter and successor in interest of decedent Judith Phillips, filed a complaint against TLC, alleging negligent hiring and retention of James Joseph Cain after Cain, a former employee of TLC, murdered Judith. While Cain was employed as a plumbing service repairman for TLC, he was dispatched on a service call
Johnson v. United Cerebral Palsy/Spastic Children’s Found., 173 Cal. App. 4th 740 (2009)
Dewandra Johnson, who was employed as a counselor for this charitable foundation, alleged that she had been terminated while and because she was pregnant. Johnson also alleged that her supervisor (Raquel Jiminez) had a discriminatory animus against pregnant and heterosexual women and that Jiminez gave preferential treatment to gay and lesbian
Chindarah v. Pick Up Stix, Inc., 171 Cal. App. 4th 706 (2009)
Two former employees of Pick Up Stix (a restaurant) filed a complaint seeking unpaid overtime, penalties and interest due to the misclassification of their jobs as exempt from the overtime pay requirements of state law. The putative class included current and former general managers, assistant managers and lead cooks employed during the
Sullivan v. Oracle Corp., 557 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2009)
The Ninth Circuit has withdrawn its published opinion in this case and certified the following questions to the California Supreme Court: (1) Does the California Labor Code apply to overtime work performed in California for a California-based employer by out-of-state plaintiffs in the circumstances of this case, such that overtime pay is required for
People v. Tabb, 170 Cal. App. 4th 1142 (2009)
Edward Nathaniel Tabb, Sr. was convicted by a jury for grand theft of his employer’s property. Tabb worked as a “runner or helper for pipe fitters” at BAE Systems. Over a period of approximately two months, Tabb brought new or used ship parts to A to Z Auto Dismantling, a recycling company, and sold them
Cristler v. Express Messenger Systems, Inc., 171 Cal. App. 4th 72 (2009)
James Cristler and others sued Express Messenger, a parcel delivery service, for violations of California law based upon Express’ allegedly illegal classification of its workers as independent contractors and not employees. Among other things, plaintiffs alleged violations of the California overtime requirements, as well as requirements to properly itemize wages and to
Ghazaryan v. Diva Limousine, Ltd., 169 Cal. App. 4th 1524 (2009)
Sarkis Ghazaryan filed this class action lawsuit alleging that Diva Limousine had failed to pay wages, overtime compensation, and to provide meal periods and rest breaks in violation of California law. Diva followed a policy of paying its drivers an hourly rate of pay for assigned trips but it failed to pay them
Pineda v. Bank of Am., N.A., 170 Cal. App. 4th 388 (2009)
Jorge Pineda filed this class action against Bank of America for unpaid wages and for “waiting-time” penalties under Labor Code § 203. Although Pineda gave the bank two weeks’ advance notice of his resignation, the bank failed to pay him his final pay until four days after his employment had ended. Pineda