GRODENSKY v. CASINO Part-IV
Artichoke Joe's Casino (Artichoke Joe's or the casino) implemented a mandatory tip pooling policy for the dealers. A dealer, Harvey Grodensky, filed a class action and alleged claims for conversion and violating Labor Code sections 351 and 1194. He also claimed in his representative capacity that the casino had violated the Unfair Competition Law (UCL). After a bench trial, the trial court found that a mandatory tip pool was legal. However, it determined the shift managers were agents of the casino and therefore the casino violated Labor Code section 351 by distributing a portion of the tip money to the shift managers. The court also found that this violation of the Labor Code supported Grodensky's UCL claim. The court ordered restitution for the amount of tip money given to the shift managers and issued an injunction. It also ruled that Grodensky was entitled to an award of attorney fees under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5. Both parties appealed and we, on our own motion, consolidated the appeals.
On appeal, Artichoke Joe's asserts that a protective order issued by the trial court was unlawful, that Labor Code section 351 did not provide Grodensky with a private right of action, and that restitution was not a proper remedy. It also challenges the court's award of attorney fees to Grodensky and the class. We agree that the lower court did not apply the proper test under Code of Civil Procedure section 1021.5 when determining that Grodensky was entitled to attorney fees and remand for the court to consider whether to award attorney fees using the proper test. We otherwise reject the casino's arguments.
In the appeal by Grodensky and the class, they argue that the trial court erred in finding that the mandatory tipping pool did not violate Labor Code section 351 and that the casino did not violate Labor Code section 1194. They also object to the lower court's rulings that the floor managers were not agents under Labor Code section 350, subdivision (d), that Grodensky could not bring a claim of conversion, and that Grodensky and the class did not have a UCL claim based on alleged violations of Labor Code sections 221 and 450. We are not persuaded by any of Grodensky and the class's arguments.
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