Jimenez-Sanchez v. Dark Horse Express, Inc. CA5
The named plaintiffs, former employees of defendant, brought this action asserting wage and hour claims on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated employees of defendant. The trial court denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. Plaintiffs appeal, asserting the claims of the proposed class are based on statutory and regulatory requirements and uniform policies of defendant, which present predominantly common issues of law and fact suitable for determination on a class basis. They contend the trial court’s decision was based on improper legal criteria and erroneous legal assumptions and was unsupported by substantial evidence. We conclude that, in denying the motion for class certification, the trial court used improper criteria or erroneous legal assumptions, which affected its analysis of whether plaintiffs’ claims and one of defendant’s defenses presented predominantly common issues, suitable for determination on a class basis. Accordingly, we reverse
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