Fortune 250 Subsidiary Prevails on Appeal in Wage Class Action

After three administrative law judges and a trial court found this subsidiary of a Fortune 250 company liable for paying retention bonuses to employees who had been laid off, client rejected plaintiffs’ counsel demand of $1.8 million to settle.  On appeal of the trial court’s award of $99,000 and an award to plaintiffs of over $880,000 in fees, he persuaded the California Court of Appeal that his client had no obligation to pay the bonuses in the first instance and the Court reversed the award of fees.  On a second appeal following the trial court’s award of $307,000 in catalyst attorneys’ fees, obtained reversal and a remand directing the trial court to award his client all fees and costs in the eight-year litigation (Zalua v. Tempo Research, Los Angeles Superior). 

*prior firm experience