California Supreme Court Schedules Oral Argument in Brinker

The California Supreme Court just announced that it will hear oral argument in Brinker v. Superior Court (Hohnbaum) on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. in San Francisco. So we will have a decision by Valentine's Day. That's about 3 1/2 years after the petition for review was filed. Still well short of the 5 years that they spent on Martinez v. Combs.

Wang v. Chinese Daily News: SCOTUS Vacates Judgment, Remands for Reconsideration in Light of Dukes

The Supreme Court of the United States yesterday vacated the judgment in Wang v. Chinese Daily News, the long-running Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) class action by employees of the Chinese language newspaper. The Court granted certiorari, vacated the judgment, and remanded to the Ninth Circuit for further consideration in light of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. ___ (2011).

The Ninth Circuit's opinion (blogged here) had addressed a number of important issues, including exempt status of reporters, class certification, invalidation of coerced opt outs, trial issues, preemption of claims under California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL), and attorney fees.