Defeating Class Certification – When a Win Really Isn’t a Win
By Gene Williams, The Maloney Firm, APC
 

Attorneys who defend against class action lawsuits know that the most effective and decisive way to beat such a lawsuit is to defeat class certification. A denial of class certification reduces an otherwise large case with significant exposure for the defendant to a single plaintiff (or a small number of plaintiffs), and can then be resolved either with a motion for summary judgment or a modest settlement. However, not all denials of class certification are treated equally, as the defendant in Tellez v. Rich Voss Trucking, Inc., Santa Clara County Sup. Ct. No. 1-12-CV-227103 recently learned.
 

In Tellez, plaintiff filed a putative class action against Rich Voss Trucking alleging wage and hour violations. After substantial delay by the plaintiff, including one granted extension of time to file a motion for class certification and after another request for extension was denied, Plaintiff filed his motion for class certification. The court set the motion for hearing and issued a tentative denying the motion for class certification, but provided no basis for that denial. The tentative simply stated that the motion was denied.
 

In connection with the hearing on the motion, the plaintiff failed to comply with Santa Clara County local rules regarding contesting a tentative, which required the plaintiff to call the court and opposing counsel the day before the hearing to inform them of the party’s intent to contest the tentative. As a result, the defendant’s counsel did not appear at the hearing, and the court expressed its frustration with Plaintiff’s counsel that it could not substantively discuss the motion because defendant’s counsel was not present. The court simply indicated that the tentative would become final. When plaintiff’s counsel asked if the Court would provide a more detailed explanation of the basis for its denial of class certification, the Court stated that “I don’t intend to.”  

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