Blog« back to blog homeSubscribe to RSS feed
Month: October, 2017
Ninth Circuit Rejects En Banc Review Bid in Risinger v. SOC
Category: News, Press, Results | Wednesday, October 18th, 2017 | Comments Off on Ninth Circuit Rejects En Banc Review Bid in Risinger v. SOC
9th Circ. Won’t Rethink Class Cert. For Private Iraq Guards
By Vin Gurrieri
Law360, New York (October 17, 2017, 9:15 PM EDT)
The full Ninth Circuit on Tuesday let stand its decision that thousands of armed guards at U.S. military bases in Iraq can collectively pursue claims that the private security contractor they worked for forced them to work far in excess of the hourly limits imposed by the federal government.
A three judge panel issued a one page order rejecting a bid by SOC LLC and its parent company Day & Zimmermann Inc. for an en banc review of a September decision that upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du to certify a class of armed guards represented by plaintiff Karl Risinger.
Judge Du had held that the guards could collectively pursue claims that SOC uniformly misrepresented the amount of time they were required to work at no more than six days per week and up to 12 hours per day — a ruling the Ninth Circuit affirmed in its September decision.
But in a Sept. 15 petition for en banc review, SOC said the Ninth Circuit essentially used an approach to class certification that existed before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Dukes decision in 2011 that decertified 1.5 million female Walmart employees. The decision was widely perceived as raising the bar for plaintiffs bringing classwide discrimination claims.
Plaintiffs’ counsel Scott E. Gizer of Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP told Law360 Tuesday that “we are pleased the Ninth Circuit correctly and unanimously denied SOC’s petition, moving us one step closer to justice for these brave plaintiffs.”
Representatives for SOC were not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
The dispute stems from a $485 million contract awarded to SOC in 2009 by the U.S. Department of Defense. Under the terms of that deal, SOC had to staff 16 military bases in Iraq and had to limit guards at 72 hours per week, according to court filings by the plaintiffs. Those parameters were communicated to potential employees by SOC recruiters, who used call scripts, and outlined in the workers’ employment contracts, according to court documents.
Risinger, a U.S. Army veteran who worked for SOC in Iraq for a period, alleged in a 2012 lawsuit that the company intentionally understaffed bases and that those manpower shortages meant that guards at the 16 bases in Iraq were forced in practical terms to work seven days a week for more than 14 hours per day, with some going months before having a day off.
The lawsuit, which sought to represent all individuals employed as armed guards by SOC in Iraq from 2006 through 2012, included allegations of promissory fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of contract related to the company’s alleged misrepresentation of guards’ anticipated work schedule before they went to Iraq and breach of its employment contract after they arrived. The class could potentially include in excess of 4,000 people, according to court filings.
In appealing the class certification ruling, SOC had challenged Judge Du’s conclusion that the guards met the predominance prong for certification, which requires that questions of law or fact that are common to class members predominate over any questions that affect only individual class members.
But the Ninth Circuit in its September ruling said that Judge Du had “permissibly found” that SOC recruiters made nearly identical representations concerning guards’ anticipated work schedule in scripts used by recruiters.
Additionally, SOC employees and several recruits described a similar understanding of the work schedule limits, according to the Ninth Circuit ruling.
“Because the district court’s finding renders the misrepresentation element of Risinger’s fraud claims amenable to classwide proof, the district court did not abuse its discretion by concluding that common issues would predominate,” the panel said, adding that the lower court also correctly decided that a common question of contract interpretation predominates for Risinger’s breach of contract claim.
Day & Zimmermann is also named as a defendant.
Circuit Judges Susan P. Graber and Mary H. Murguia as well as U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sat on the panel for the Ninth Circuit.
Risinger is represented by Scott E. Gizer and Devin A. McRae of Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP.
SOC is represented by Theodore J. Boutrous, Theane Evangelis and Bradley J. Hamburger of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and Kimberly J. Gost, Matthew J. Hank and Rick D. Roskelley of Littler Mendelson PC.
The case is Karl Risinger v. SOC LLC, case number 1615120 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
–Editing by Kelly Duncan.
California Court of Appeal Affirms Summary Judgment Victory Obtained by Eric Early and William Wright on Behalf of First American Title Insurance Company
Category: News, Press | Tuesday, October 17th, 2017 | Comments Off on California Court of Appeal Affirms Summary Judgment Victory Obtained by Eric Early and William Wright on Behalf of First American Title Insurance Company
In 1500 Viewsite Terrace, LLC v. Pickford Escrow, Inc., et al., the California Court of Appeal has affirmed the summary judgment victory obtained by Early Sullivan for its client First American Title Insurance Company.
In the Viewsite action, the plaintiff/appellant had sued First American for breach of title policy and bad faith relating to multimillion-dollar residential property in the Hollywood Hills. The Court of Appeal’s decision in Viewsite involves issues that are important to the title insurance industry, including regarding the interpretation of certain key title insurance policy forms, provisions and exceptions.
The decision is the first in California interpreting a binder of title insurance. And, the decision confirms that a policy of title insurance issued pursuant to such a binder does not provide more coverage than that offered in the binder. The decision is also important insofar as there is relatively little California case law interpreting exceptions to coverage in title insurance policies, particularly since the California Legislature made certain amendments to the Insurance Code in 1981 which eliminated any duty of disclosure on the part of title insurers and confirmed that preliminary reports are not representations of the condition of title.
In the decision, the Court found that an exception for a recorded lis pendens, and a separate exception for a recorded judgment, were neither vague nor ambiguous. The decision is the first in California to interpret the legal effect of an exception for a lis pendens and an exception for a recorded judgment in a title insurance policy. The decision also interprets Condition 3 of the CLTA standard coverage policy of title insurance. The CLTA standard coverage policy of title insurance is one of the commonly used form policies of title insurance in California, and identical or nearly identical provisions to Condition 3 are found in many other form policies of title insurance policies issued in this state and around the country. Despite the ubiquitous nature of this policy provision, there is a dearth of case law interpreting Condition 3 (which obligates the insured to provide prompt notice of any potential claim and that, if prompt notice is not given and such lack of prompt notice prejudices the insurer, that all liability of the insurer shall terminate).
The decision confirms that this form policy language means what it says. The decision also found that the title policy in question was not illusory. This is the first California opinion addressing the doctrine of illusory contracts in the specific context of a title insurance policy.
Click on Download PDF to see the judgment.
Bryan Sullivan Speaks at Vancouver International Film Festival Industry Exchange
Category: Events, News | Monday, October 16th, 2017 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Speaks at Vancouver International Film Festival Industry Exchange
Bryan Sullivan spoke at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) Industry Exchange on October 5, 2017. The presentation, entitled “Demand Your Independence,” covered the ins and outs of funding independent film and TV projects. Bryan brought his expertise as a legal strategist and an expert negotiator to help filmmakers successfully navigate the ever-changing environment of independent filmmaking.
The VIFF Industry Exchange is the perfect opportunity for executives and content creators to learn about the latest trends and developments in digital entertainment and join industry leaders as they discuss the global environment and the opportunities it presents.