Spiro Moss authors amicus brief for CAOC; challenges extension of AT&T v. Concepcion to employment cases

On May 23, 2011, the Second Appellate District, Division Five, granted Consumer Attorneys of California ("CAOC")  leave to file their proposed brief as amicus curiae in support of the plaintiff in Brown v. Ralphs Grocery Company.  What would normally have been a standard request for leave to file an amicus brief was rendered somewhat less standard in light of the fact that oral argument had already occurred in Brown.  The Court of Appeal requested supplemental briefs on the question of whether AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion (April 27, 2011) precludes the Gentry v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 443 defense to certain arbitration agreements.  After determining that the parties had not already addressed the issues, CAOC presented several bases for rejecting the contention that Concepcion overruled Gentry.

H. Scott Leviant was the primary author on behalf of CAOC.  Dennis F. Moss, Gregory N. Karasik, and J. Mark Moore of Spiro Moss LLP and David M. Arbogast of Arbogast & Berns LLP also contributed to CAOC's brief.  Spiro Moss will soon make a draft of the brief available on this website.

Update on Saturday, May 28, 2011 at 4:50PM by Spiro Moss

A draft of the Brief is available here.

Settlement in Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc. receives preliminary approval

Today the United States District Court, Central District of California, preliminarily approved a class action settlement in Bateman v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc., Case No. 07-cv-00171 JHN (AJWx).  The Complaint alleges that AMC willfully violated the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (“FACTA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g), by printing the expiration date or more than the last five digits of credit and debit card numbers on electronically printed receipts provided to customers at the point of sale or transaction after January 1, 2005.

The settlement follows a successful appeal of the District Court's denial of class certification on superiority grounds.  The Ninth Circuit concluded that none of the three grounds relied upon by the district court — the disproportionality between the potential statutory liability and the actual harm suffered, the enormity of the potential damages, or AMC’s good faith compliance — justified the denial of class certification on superiority grounds.

The deadline for submitting a claim is May 20, 2011.  Claim forms are available on this website here.

Spiro Moss announces Greg Karasik as new partner

On July 7, 2010, Spiro Moss announced that Greg Karasik has been named as a partner at Spiro Moss.  The firm extends its congratulations to Mr. Karasik on this accomplishment.

In Ybarra v. Aramark Corportion, Judge Velasquez rules that Labor Code section 203 "penalties" are recoverable under the UCL

In Ybarra v. Aramark Corporation, Orange County Complex Litigation Department Judge David C. Velasquez overruled a demurrer and denied a Motion to Strike that were directed at Plaintiff's allegation that a four-year statute of limitation applied to Labor Code section 203 claims incorporated into a Unfair Competition Law claim.  Gregory Karasik briefed the Oppositions for Plaintiff.  The Order of the Court is embedded below: