Narrative Opinion Summary
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed a case involving 156 individuals alleging misclassification as independent contractors by Field Asset Services (FAS), impacting their overtime pay and expense reimbursement. The district court's class certification was reversed, as the plaintiffs could not prove FAS's liability with common evidence, failing Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3). The court applied the Borello test for expense claims and the Dynamex ABC test for overtime claims, identifying genuine disputes in the latter, thus deeming summary judgment inappropriate. The enactment of Cal. Labor Code § 2776 introduced a business-to-business exception to the Dynamex test, necessitating further factual determination. The interim award of over five million dollars in attorneys' fees was vacated due to its connection to the class certification and summary judgment errors. The court remanded the case for further proceedings, instructing the lower court to consider joint employment issues and potential application of the business-to-business exception, while also vacating the interim attorneys' fees award.
Legal Issues Addressed
Application of Borello Test and Dynamex ABC Testsubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court determined that the Borello test applied to expense reimbursement claims, while the Dynamex ABC test was relevant for overtime claims.
Reasoning: Furthermore, the court clarified that the claims were not based on California wage orders, but rather on Cal. Labor Code § 2802, thus applying the Borello test rather than Dynamex.
Class Certification under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3)subscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court reversed class certification due to the predominance of individualized questions over common ones, failing to meet the Rule 23(b)(3) requirement.
Reasoning: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court's class certification order... The court found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that FAS's liability could be established through common evidence, as required under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3).
Interim Attorneys' Fees and Pendent Appellate Jurisdictionsubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The interim award of attorneys' fees was vacated, with the court exercising pendent appellate jurisdiction due to its close ties to the appealed orders.
Reasoning: The panel determined that the interim award of attorneys’ fees must be vacated due to errors in the class certification and summary judgment orders.
Retroactive Application of Cal. Labor Code § 2776subscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The enactment of Cal. Labor Code § 2776 introduced a retroactive business-to-business exception to the ABC test, potentially affecting the employee status of certain class members.
Reasoning: The enactment of Cal. Labor Code § 2776 introduced a retroactive business-to-business exception to the ABC test, allowing Borello to govern employee status if twelve criteria are met.
Summary Judgment and Genuine Issues of Material Factsubscribe to see similar legal issues
Application: The court found genuine disputes regarding the application of the ABC test, indicating that summary judgment was not warranted for the overtime claims.
Reasoning: The panel found genuine disputes regarding parts A and C of the test, indicating uncertainty about the vendors' independence and control by FAS.