Zackaria v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

142 F. Supp. 3d 949, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151351, 2015 WL 6745714
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedNovember 3, 2015
DocketCase No. ED CV 12-1520 FMO (SPx)
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 142 F. Supp. 3d 949 (Zackaria v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) 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
Zackaria v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 142 F. Supp. 3d 949, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151351, 2015 WL 6745714 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER Re: PAGA CLAIM

Fernando M. Olguin, United States District Judge

Having reviewed and considered the parties’ motions.in limine, and concluding that oral argument is not necessary to resolve the motions, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 78; Local Rule 7-15; Willis v. Pac. Mar. Ass’n, 244 F.3d 675, 684 n. 2 (9th Cir.2001), the court rules as follows.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Aladdin Zackaria (“Zackaria” or “plaintiff’) filed this wage and hour class action against, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (‘Wal-Mart” or “defendant”) on August 3, 2011, in the San Bernardino County Superior Court. (See Notice of Removal, Exhibit (“Exh.”) A (“Complaint”)). Defendant removed the case to this court on September 6, 2012, pursuant to the Class Action Fairness Act’,' ' 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2). Plaintiff brought the action individually and on behalf of individuals currently and formerly employed by defendant as an Asset Protection Coordinator (“ÁPC”).1 (See Complaint at ¶¶ 12-13). Plaintiff alleged that defendant knowingly misclassified him and “other class members ... as ‘exempt’ employees [under state law] and paid them on a salary basis, without any compensation for overtime hours worked, missed meal periods or rest breaks.” (Id. at ¶ 19). On these grounds, plaintiff asserts claims for: (1) failure to pay overtime, Cal. Lab. Code §§ 510,1194, & 1198; (2) failure to pay minimum wage, [952]*952Cal. Lab. Code §§ 1194 & 1197; (3) rest period, violations, Cal. Lab. Code §§ 226.7; (4) meal period violations, Cal. Lab. Code §§ 226,7 & 512; (5) wage statement violations, Cal. Lab. Code § 226; (6) waiting time penalties, Cal. Lab. Code §§ 201-03; (7) failure to maintain adequate records, Cal. Lab. Code § 1174; (8) failure to timely pay wages,. Cal. Lab. Code § 204; (9) unlawful business practices, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200, et seq.; and (10) civil penalties under the California Private Attorneys General Act, Cal. Lab. Code §§ 2698, et seq. (“PAGA”). (See Complaint at ¶¶ 534)7).

Plaintiff filed a motion for class certification pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(2); (See Renewed Motion for Class Certification (“Class Cert. Motion”), Dkt. No. 78). The court denied the Class Cert. Motion in May, 2015., (See Court’s Order of May 18, 2015, at 26). Subsequently, in its Order Re: Further Proceedings, the court set a trial date' of November 17, 2015.’ (Nee Court’s Order of May 21, 2015, at 15-16).

Each party filed two motions in limine, the substance of which overlaps almost entirely. Defendant’s Motion In Limine No. 1 To Exclude Irrelevant Testimony and Exhibits Unrelated 'to Plaintiff Aladdin Zackaria’s, Claim (“Dft. MIL No. i”), seeks to exclude testimony, declarations, personnel files, and any other exhibits related to employees other than Zackaria, which plaintiff intends to use to support his representative PAGA claim at trial. (See Dft. MIL No. 1 at 2). The basis for Dft. MIL No. 1 is that since the court denied class certification because “the exemptions questions at issue in this action did not lend themselves to common proof’ (see id. at 1), plaintiff cannot now pursue a representative PAGA claim “on behalf of an unidentified number of additional non-party employees.” (Id. at 2). Defendant’s Motion in Limine No. 2 to Exclude Hearsay Exhibits (“Dft. MIL No. 2”) seeks to exclude the declarations and personnel files of the non-parties that are the subject of Dft. MIL No. 1 on the additional basis that they are hearsay. (See Dft. MIL No. 2 at 1). Plaintiff, on the other hand, filed its Motion in Limine No. 1 To Exclude Testimony, Evidence, or Argument by Defendant Relating to the Denial of Class Certification and the Appeal Therefrom (“Pltf. MIL No. 1”), arguing that because the denial of class certification does not impact the remaining PAGA claim, it is irrelevant, and any mention of it “will likely confuse and mislead the jury to believe that the merits .of Plaintiffs’ underlying claims, may be unmeritorious[.J” (Pltf. MIL No. 1 at 1). Plaintiffs Motion in Limine No. 2 Barring Defendant From Calling All 340 Plus Aggrieved Employees to Testify at Trial (“Pltf. MIL No. 2”) seeks to prevent Wal-Mart from arguing that all of the 340-plus APCs “must testify because this is a PAGA action.” ’ (See Pltf. MIL No. 2 at 1). Plaintiff asserts that “[djefendants confronting representative actions do not have the right to call all class members to the stand” (see id. at 3), but defendant responds that plaintiffs motion is simply “not' directed to any claims that remain in this case.” (Id. at 1), “Were there a representative claim remaining for trial here,” defendant argues, “then Walmart would be entitled to .,, present evidence from other [APCs] to rebut Plaintiffs evidence.” (See id. at 3) (emphasis in original).

As the paragraph above makes clear, the core of the parties’ dispute is whether the court’s, denial of class certification means that Zackaria cannot pursue a representative PAGA claim.2 If the answer to that question is yes, evidence that plaintiff intends to introduce at trial may now be irrelevant and/or prejudicial, and if the [953]*953answer is no, the .same may be true of defendant’s evidence.

DISCUSSION

When the California Legislature enacted PAGA, it declared that “adequate financing of labor law enforcement was necessary to achieve maximum compliance with state, labor laws, that staffing levels for labor law enforcement agencies had declined and were unlikely to keep pace with the future growth of the labor market, and that it was therefore in the public interest to allow aggrieved employees, acting as private attorneys general, to recover civil penalties for Labor Code violations!)]” Arias v. Superior Court, 46 Cal.4th 969, 980, 95 Cal.Rptr.3d 588, 209 P.3d 923 (2009). Under PAGA, an “aggrieved employee” may bring a civil action personally and on behalf of current br former employees to recover civil penalties for violations of the California Labor Code. See id. “Of the civil penalties recovered, 75 percent goes to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency [ (“LWDA”) ], leaving the remaining 25 percent for the ‘aggrieved employees.’ ”3 Id. at 980-81, 95 Cal.Rptr.3d 588, 209 P.3d 923; see Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, 59 Cal.4th 348, 360, 173 Cal.Rptr.3d 289, 327 P.3d 129

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Bluebook (online)
142 F. Supp. 3d 949, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151351, 2015 WL 6745714, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zackaria-v-wal-mart-stores-inc-cacd-2015.