Manatt's Andrew Satenberg, a partner in the firm's Employment & Labor Practice, was quoted by Law360 on a recent Ninth Circuit ruling that could fuel more Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) lawsuits.
As reported by Law360, the Ninth Circuit recently held that Chase Investment Services Corp. can't rely on the Class Action Fairness Act to remove wage-and-hour claims brought under California's Private Attorney General Act to federal court. The three-judge panel found that the federal district court didn't have jurisdiction over a former Chase employee's removed PAGA suit under CAFA. Industry lawyers told Law360 that the ruling restricts employers' ability to boot PAGA cases from plaintiff-friendly state courts and could trigger more PAGA lawsuits.
The decision could lead to an increase in the number of PAGA suits that expressly state they do not seek class certification, said Satenberg.
"If there are no class action allegations in the complaint and it is purely a PAGA suit, then there is no ability to remove the case," he said. "It could increase efforts by the plaintiffs bar ... to file PAGA-only cases, simply to reduce the likelihood that their case is removed to federal court."
Read the article here.