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« Second District CCA Reverses Two Trial Court Rulings That Had Denied Requests To Arbitrate | Main | Arbitration: Issue Decided In Arbitration May Preclude Federal Claim In Case Where Employee Is Protected From Arbitration »

12/22/2024

Settlement, Costs, Fees: First District, Div. 3 Emphasizes Primacy Of Employee-Protective Statutes Over General Cost-Shifting Provisions

Labor Code Sections Prohibiting Cost-Shifting To Employees Prevailed Over Section 998 Cost-Shifting.

        The next case does not involve ADR. We blog about it because it does involve settlement offers and cost-shifting.

        Employees sued California Collision LLC (CCL) and its owner for labor law violations. The case involved several settlement offers under California Code of Civil Procedure section 998. Jorge Chavez, et al. v. California Collision, LLC et al., A167658 (1/3  12/10/24) (Petrou, Fujisaki, Rodriguez).

        The appellate court reversed the trial court’s award of post-offer costs to CCL. It held that Labor Code sections 1194 and 218.5, which prohibit cost-shifting to employees absent bad faith, override section 998 in wage claims.

        The court found no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s award of significantly reduced attorney fees to the plaintiffs. It upheld the trial court’s reasoning that the attorney's submitted billing records were inadequately segregated by plaintiff and claim, and his hourly rate was appropriately set at $200 based on the evidence.

 

Posted by on 12/22/2024 at 12:25 PM in Arbitration: Costs, Arbitration: Employment, Arbitration: Fees, Settlement |

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