Due Process Concerns Sinks Overtime Class Action against Employer, California Court Rules

Reversing a $15 million judgment against an employer in a class action for alleged unpaid overtime, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, has held that the trial court’s trial management plan, which used sampling evidence to prove class liability, denied the employer due process by preventing it from defending against over 90% of class claims. Duran v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, Nos. A125557 & A126827 (Cal. Ct. App. Feb. 6, 2012). The Court found the plan “was fatally flawed” and concluded the lower court’s adherence to it denied the employer due process because the court based its evidentiary rulings on the plan, rather than trial testimony. The Court reversed the judgment and ordered the class to be decertified.