Judge: William A. Crowfoot, Case: 22AHCV00611, Date: 2023-05-23 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22AHCV00611    Hearing Date: May 23, 2023    Dept: 3

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - NORTHEAST DISTRICT

Plaintiff Mario Racho (“Plaintiff”) filed this action against defendant SJC Produce, Inc. dba Green Island Produce, Inc. (“Defendant”) on August 26, 2022, alleging various violations of the Labor Code, including minimum wage violations, overtime violations, wage statement violations, meal and rest period violations, failure to reimburse, failure to timely pay wages, and failure to pay wages upon separation.  This action is an individual wage and hour case as well as a case brought under the Labor Code’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). 

On April 21, 2023, Defendant filed this motion for an order “approving the settlement and release of disputed claims of putatively aggrieved employees under the [PAGA] claim alleged against [it] in this action.”  (Notice of Motion, p. 2.)  Defendant represents that the putative group of aggrieved employees is very small with only 18 people and that 16 of its employees have accepted its proposed settlement of the PAGA claims as alleged in Plaintiff’s complaint.  Defendant further states that it has given notice of this proposed settlement to the State of California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency (“LWDA”) and received no objection. (Motion, pp. 6-8.)  

Defendant emphasizes that “every single employee (current and former) aside from Racho and one employee who is not reachable at his last known address, has agreed to settle their PAGA claims and move on” and that each individual was “willing to serve as the representative for the [LWDA] if necessary for purposes of securing the Court’s approval of the settlement agreement and release of claims in this action.”  (Motion, p. 7.)  Defendant cites to two cases purporting to give the Court authority to approve the proposed settlement without Plaintiff’s consent: Hutcheson v. Superior Ct. (2022) 74 Cal.App.5th 932 and Moniz v. Adecco USA, Inc. (2021) 72 Cal.App.5th 56.  Neither of them support Defendant’s novel contention that the employees with whom they’ve purportedly settled “their” PAGA claim may be simply substituted in for Plaintiff without complying with Labor Code section 2699.3. 

First, unlike Hutcheson, there is no evidence here that any of Defendant’s employees (other than Plaintiff) have satisfied the statutory requirements of becoming a PAGA plaintiff or that there is a parallel PAGA action.  The fact that the LWDA received and did not object to this motion and settlement agreements does not deputize those employees in accordance with Labor Code section 2699.3.   Second, Moniz is procedurally inapposite because the nonparty employees are not challenging the settlement but are instead (along with Defendant) seeking the Court’s approval while Plaintiff opposes the settlement.  Defendant provides no case law supporting its contention that a nonparty employee has standing to seek approval of a settlement for a PAGA claim without filing their own PAGA action and fulfilling all the statutory requirements of section 2699.3. 

Based on the foregoing, the motion is DENIED.

Moving party to give notice.

Dated this 23rd day of May, 2023

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at ALHDEPT3@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the matter.  Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue.  If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar.