Writing in the National Law Review, Sheryl L. Skibbe of Vedder Price profiles a recent California appellate decision that provides a path to “managing an unmanageable mess.” According to Skibbe, individual plaintiffs file hundreds of boilerplate complaints against employers for alleged violations of the California Labor Code, claiming authority under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). Lawsuits filed under PAGA contain weaker procedural protections than class actions, which leads to situations where claims cannot be fairly and efficiently tried.

Last week, the California Court of Appeal issued the first appellate decision affirming the trial courts’ inherent authority to strike just such a claim. The Court affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a plaintiff’s PAGA claims where the projected trial plan would require “individualized determinations as to hundreds or thousands of differently situated employees, requiring years of trial court time.” In Skibbe’s words, “this decision cements the ability of trial courts to manage PAGA litigation despite the lack of express statutory requirements to demonstrate manageability.”

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