Split Of Authority Emerges Regarding Whether Employers Can Dismiss PAGA Lawsuits On Manageability Grounds

• Published date: 08 April 2022
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Employment Litigation/ Tribunals, Class Actions, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton
• Author: Ms Hilary Habib

On March 23, 2022, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, Inc., ruled that courts do not have authority to strike a claim under the Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA") due to a lack of manageability at trial. Estrada creates a split of authority with a pro-employer decision, Wesson v. Staples the Office Superstore, LLC, 68 Cal. App. 5th 746 (2021). The Court in Wesson found that trial courts have inherent authority to dismiss PAGA claims as unmanageable. Wesson was discussed in detail in a prior blog article.

In Estrada, after the trial court dismissed a PAGA claim for being unmanageable, the plaintiffs appealed. The appellate court agreed with the plaintiffs that the trial court improperly struck the PAGA claim because the PAGA statute does not have a manageability requirement. First, the court noted the differences between class and PAGA actions, explaining a class action is a procedural device for...