Boyd v. Bank of America Corp.

300 F.R.D. 431, 23 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 111, 2014 WL 2925098, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90670
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedJune 27, 2014
DocketNo. SACV 13-00561-DOC (JPRx)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 300 F.R.D. 431 (Boyd v. Bank of America Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boyd v. Bank of America Corp., 300 F.R.D. 431, 23 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 111, 2014 WL 2925098, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90670 (C.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION [118]

DAVID O. CARTER, District Judge.

Before the Court is the Motion for Class Certification (“Motion” or “Mot.”) (Dkt. 118) filed by Terry P. Boyd, Ethel Joann Parks, Sonia Medina, Linda Zanko, and all others similarly situated. Having considered the written submissions and arguments presented at the hearing, the Court GRANTS the Motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant LandSafe Appraisal Services, Inc.1 (“LandSafe”) provides its customers with market value appraisals for properties in connection with residential mortgage loan transactions. Opp’n at 1. Plaintiffs Terry P. Boyd, Ethel Joann Parks, Sonia Medina, and Linda Zanko (“Proposed Class Representatives”) are current and former residential appraisers2 (“Residential Appraisers”) employed by LandSafe. First Binongcal Decl. ¶¶ 7, 8.

LandSafe classifies its Residential Appraisers as ‘exempt’ under the California Labor Code. Decl. of Bryan Schwartz (“Schwartz Decl.”) (Dkt. 119) Ex. A (“30(b)(6) Dep.”) 34:7-16, 170:15-171:19. Plaintiffs believe they are not exempt, and assert California state law claims for: (1) failure to pay overtime compensation, Second Am. Compl. (“SAC”) (Dkt. 42) ¶¶ 61-64; (2) failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements, id. ¶¶ 65-67; (3) failure to provide rest breaks and meal periods, id. ¶¶ 68-74; (4) unfair business practices, id. ¶¶ 75-77; (5) late pay and waiting time penalties, id. ¶¶ 78-83; and (6) civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General Act, id. ¶¶ 84-95.

A. Proposed Classes

Plaintiffs move to certify one class and two subclasses. See Mot. at 25. The following class (the “California Class”) asserts claims for failure to pay overtime compensation, failure to provide rest breaks and meal periods, and unfair business practices:

All persons who are or have been employed by Defendants as Appraisers, including employees with the job title “Residential Appraiser” and any other employee performing the same or similar job duties for Defendants, within the State of California at any time from four years prior to the filing of this Complaint to the final disposition of this case.

[435]*435SAC ¶ 36; Mot. at 1.3 Plaintiffs also move to certify two subclasses (together, the “Subclasses”) of the California Class. First, the following subclass (the “California Waiting Time Penalties Subclass”) asserts a claim for late pay and waiting time penalties:

All California Class members who are no longer employed by Defendants and have not been employed by Defendants for more than 72 hours.

SAC ¶ 37. Second, the following subclass (the “California Itemized Wage State and PAGA Penalties Subclass”) asserts claims for failure to provide accurate itemized wage statements and civil penalties under PAGA:

All California Class members who are currently employed by Defendants or were employed by Defendants at some point within the year preceding the filing of the initial Complaint in this action.

Id. ¶ 38.

B. Duties of Residential Appraisers

Before Defendant Bank of America can sell a mortgage on a home, a Residential Appraiser must evaluate the property and attach the report as part of the loan package. 30(b)(6) Dep. 153:13-23; Decl. of Terry Boyd (Dkt. 44-2) ¶ 3; Decl. of Linda Zanko (Dkt. 44-14) ¶ 3; Deck of Ethel Parks (Dkt. 10) ¶ 3; Deck of Sonia Medina (Dkt. 44-9) ¶ 3; Deck of Harvey Waggoner (Dkt. 44-13) ¶ 3; Deck of Michael Petris (Dkt. 44-11); Deck of Eric Costa (Dkt. 44-3); Deck of Ricky Leung (Dkt. 44-8); Deck of Karen Lampert (Dkt. 44-7); and Deck of May Lonn Chan-Villareal (Dkt. 63-4)4 Ordinarily, each report produced by a Residential Appraiser corresponds to a single mortgage sale by Bank of America. 30(b)(6) Dep. 157:18-158:3 (testifying that “99 point whatever percent” of the time, an appraisal report “is specific to ... a particular loan that Bank of America’s trying to sell.”).

Residential Appraisers are assigned properties to inspect in their “territories,” Res. Appr. Deck ¶ 11, through a computer program called Appraisal Port, 30(b)(6) Dep. 50:4-11. Generally, the Appraisers may not “pick and choose” their assignments and rejecting an assignment “could count against them.” Id. 276:1-24. Once they receive an assignment through the Appraisal Port, a Residential Appraiser’s actions are timed. Res. Appr. Deck ¶ 14.

Residential Appraisers must gather a list of data about each property, coordinate a visit to the property, inspect and photograph the property, and look up prices of similar properties (“Comparables”) in the neighborhood. Res. Appr. Decl. ¶¶ 6-9. It is up to each Residential Appraiser to determine the Comparables that are most relevant for analyzing the subject property. Decl. of Todd Ashley ¶ 6; Decl. of Michael Carroll ¶ 7; Decl. of Holly A. Cruiekshank ¶ 8; Decl. of Jessica Dyer ¶ 4; Decl. of Robert Harris ¶ 6; Decl. of Daria Jow ¶ 5; Decl. of Bennett Mann ¶ 5. The Residential Appraisers then enter the information on a variety of federal forms, depending on the type of property. 30(b)(6) Dep. 225:19-227:13.

Apart from completing appraisal reports, Residential Appraisers do not supervise anyone, advise management, advise loan officers, negotiate, or bind LandSafe in any way. See Res. Appr. Decl. ¶¶ 3-4; 30(b)(6) Dep. 117:21-118:1, 132:11-133:5, 158:9-160:10, 149:1-3,148:2-15,150:12-151:14,162:5-16.

C. Qualifications to Be a Residential Appraiser

California has adopted and codified the minimum licensing and certification standards set out by the federal Appraiser Qualifications Board. Cal.Code Regs., tit. 10, §§ 3500-44. To become licensed, Residential Appraisers need to complete 150 hours of coursework, pass an exam, and attain 2,000 hours of experience as a supervised appraisal trainee. Id. To become certified, Residential Appraisers need to hold the equivalent of an Associate’s degree, complete 200 hours of coursework, pass an exam, and attain 2,500 hours of experience. Id. Residential Appraisers are also required to complete con[436]*436tinuing education coursework. Nicholson Decl. ¶ 13; Cal.Code Regs., tit. 10, §§ 3661-69.

D. Policies and Procedures that Apply to Residential Appraisers

The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (“USPAP”) “represents the generally accepted and recognized standards of Appraisal practice in the United States.” Def.’s Request for Judicial Notice (“Def.’s RJN”) Ex. A, p. U-l. Pursuant to the Rules of Professional Conduct for appraisers, California requires all appraisers to comply with the USPAP. Cal.Code Regs., tit. 10, Article 11, § 3701 et seq.

In addition to the USPAP, Residential Appraisers must adhere to a number of corporate policies and state and federal guidelines. See, e.g., Schwartz Decl. ¶¶ 3-8 & G (Bank of America “Property and Appraisals” guidelines); Ex. E (LandSafe “Scope of Work” for Form 1004); Ex. C (Fannie Mae “Uniform Appraisal Dataset” Guidelines); Ex. B (LandSafe “Unacceptable Appraisal Practices No. 7” in selection of Comparables); Ex. D (LandSafe “Appraisal Reporting Requirements Update”).

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Bluebook (online)
300 F.R.D. 431, 23 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 111, 2014 WL 2925098, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90670, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boyd-v-bank-of-america-corp-cacd-2014.