Plaintiffs' employment counsel often seek to multiply their potential recovery by asserting claims on behalf of numerous employees in the same case. They may do so by filing a class action under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, bringing a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act or listing numerous employees as named plaintiffs in a single lawsuit. Baker Donelson attorneys have successfully defended all three types of cases, often by persuading courts that the claims of numerous employees should not be litigated in the same suit. In cases throughout its geographic footprint, Baker Donelson has successfully argued that classes should not be certified under Rule 23 in Title VII cases, that collective actions under the FLSA should be decertified and that the claims of multiple named plaintiffs should be severed and litigated in separate suits. These favorable rulings have often been followed by successful resolution of the litigation, through nuisance value settlement, summary judgment or defense verdict after trial. Examples of the Firm's successes include the following:
- Obtained dismissal on the pleadings of class action allegations in a case asserting claims for racial discrimination and racial harassment in violation of Title VII and 42 U.S.C. ยง 1981.
- Persuaded the district court to sever the claims of the 80 plaintiffs in a Title VII case and to require them to be litigated in separate lawsuits, after which a settlement in which the plaintiffs' claims were resolved through arbitration was successfully negotiated.
- Defeated at the pleadings stage an effort to certify a class under Rule 23 of more than 80,000 plaintiffs in a case asserting state-law claims for unpaid compensation.
- Convinced the trial court to decertify a "donning/doffing" collective action under the FLSA and to dismiss the claims of current and former employees who had opted to join the suit.
- Obtained a stay in an FLSA collective action of the claims of all opt-in plaintiffs who were parties to arbitration agreements.
- Prevented conditional certification and notice to potential opt-in plaintiffs in an FLSA collective action seeking to hold a general contractor responsible for wage and hour violations committed by its subcontractors.
- Negotiated a nuisance value settlement in a statewide collective action under the FLSA alleging that employees were misclassified as independent contractors.
- Secured summary judgment in a suit brought by more than 50 employees alleging retaliation related to the handling of asbestos abatement as well as exposure to toxic chemicals.
- Settled on favorable terms FLSA collective actions in which employees at meat packing plants sought unpaid wages and overtime related to pre- and post-shift activities as well as meal breaks.
- Obtained summary judgment in multiple FLSA collective actions.
- Defeated class certification on behalf of municipality and obtained directed verdict at trial on claims by multiple employees alleging unlawful pay disparities.
- Obtained favorable jury verdict for employer on claim in FLSA collective action that employer did not provide bona fide meal periods.
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