Over the past 30 years, the attorneys at Stokes Roberts & Wagner have defended employment class actions throughout the United States for wage and hour violations, exempt misclassification, failure to provide mandated meal and rest breaks, unpaid overtime, improper reporting and record keeping, Portal-to-Portal Act violations, improper tip sharing, as well as various forms of discrimination.  We have defended class actions ranging in size from hundreds to thousands of putative class members.  The claims asserted in these cases have spanned from $5 million to $100 million, exclusive of punitive damages and attorneys' fees.  The claims have been asserted both in civil courts and in administrative law courts.

Through early case assessment and innovation in our strategy and tactics, we have successfully disposed of many of these cases either outright or through the payment of nominal settlement amounts at the onset of the case.  Where early case assessment and our client's objectives indicate that the case should be tried, we aggressively, but efficiently, prepare for trial.  Recent class actions that are illustrative of our success are set forth below:

Flynn v. Home Instead, Inc.

Los Angeles County Superior Court

Defeated class certification sought against Nebraska-based Home Instead Senior Care in  statewide putative class of thousands of home care providers who alleged employee misclassification and related wage and hour violations.

Bacolores v. Four Seasons Hotels Limited

USDC, Northern District of California

Resolved wage and hour class action within 60 days of filing of complaint at minimal cost to client, avoiding the possibility of a class of as many as 5,000 employees.

Guire v. Walt Disney World, at al.

USDC, Middle District of Florida

Mass-plaintiff action alleging FLSA violations, conversion, age discrimination, RICO violations, harassment, and unpaid wages.  Summary judgment awarded defendants on RICO claims and defense verdict returned on remainder of claims after a three week trial.

McGrath v. FSH

Los Angeles County Superior Court

Class action for misclassification and unpaid wages asserted on behalf of management-level employees.  Early resolution of entire case was reached for nominal amount.

Shields v. Pick Up Stix

Orange County Superior Court

Prevailed on summary judgment in wage and hour class action involving putative class of more than 500 employees claiming $100 million in unpaid overtime and wages for meal/rest breaks.

Arroyo v. Redeye Grill

USDC, Southern District of New York

Suit brought by 55 plaintiffs alleging wage and hour violations, sexual harassment, and retaliation under the FLSA.  Case was resolved for less than 5% of the amount claimed.

Denise D. Owens, v. Texas Wings, Inc.

USDC, Dallas County

Mass-plaintiff, multi-district action alleging wage and hour violations and unlawful tip sharing mandate.  Case resolved for 3% of the claims asserted.

Aimee Murphy v. RMD Corp.

USDC, Middle District of Tennessee

Multi-plaintiff FLSA collective action alleging violations with respect to tip-pooling, exempt/non-exempt classifications, and uniform policies.  Stokes entered case toward conclusion of pre-trial discovery.  We completed litigation and successfully negotiated settlement for client.

EEOC v. Four Seasons Hotel Austin

Prospective EEOC Agency Class Action

Agency class action threatened by EEOC based upon alleged sexual misconduct.  The agency action was avoided through aggressive investigation, and case settled for a nominal amount.

Zaragoza v. Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, Inc.

Orange County Superior Court

Avoided class certification at inception of case through challenge to pleadings.

Michael Blocker, et al. v. Rare Hospitality d/b/a Longhorn Steaks

USDC, Northern District of Georgia

Putative class action alleging system-wide race discrimination in hiring, staffing, and promotions.  Successfully defeated motion for class certification and obtained summary judgment in favor of defendant on all claims made by the remaining plaintiffs.

Mohney et. al. v. Shelly's of New York

USDC, Southern District of New York

Putative class of 2,500 employees alleging federal and state wage and hour violations and retaliation.  Pending.

Tiluscar v. Four Seasons Palm Beach

USDC, Southern District of Florida

Successfully moved to compel arbitration of putative class action for misclassification/unpaid overtime.

TEAM MEMBERS

Maria C. Roberts
John R. Hunt
Peter B. Maretz
Arch Y. Stokes
Karl M. Terrell
Paul E. Wagner
Christina D. Yates