In The End, Only $10,000 In Fees Awarded Against Employer.
This next case addresses many issues we have posted on over the years—specificity in CCP § 998 offers and seeking reasonable fees on claims which should be allocated but are not. Wu v. ABC Lucky Transportation, Inc., Case Nos. B323494/B326800 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 25, 2024) (unpublished) demonstrates how these issues pan out, not necessarily a happy conclusion for a litigant, the employee in this case.
Employee sued employer and owner/alleged alter ego for unpaid overtime, missed breaks, and wrongful termination. After several rejected settlement offers made on behalf of defendants (plural), employee accepted a CCP § 998 offer also made on behalf of the defendants for $35,000 plus any attorney’s fees and costs reasonably ordered against defendants. Based on that, the lower court dismissed both employer and alleged alter ego from the case. Later, the trial judge granted employee only $10,000 out of a requested $133,555.76 on the overtime claim after finding the claimed hours of work were excessive.
The 2/1 DCA affirmed. Given the plural wording of the 998 offer and past settlement offers, in tandem with the fact the same counsel represented both defendants, the lower court rightfully could conclude that the alter ego was part of the offer. With respect to awarded fees, the order was no abuse of discretion given there was no allotting out of work on other claims than the unpaid overtime claim and given that no extensive discovery was necessary on the joint employer issue.
Comments