Flaws Found In Sampling Approach To Wage And Hour Case.

A wage and hour class action went all the way through to verdict. The trial court devised a plan to determine the extent of liability to all class members by extrapolating from a random sample.  In the first phase of trial, the court heard testimony about the work habits of 21 plaintiffs, and defendant was not permitted to introduce evidence about work habits of anyone outside the sample group. Based upon the sample group, the court found the entire class had been misclassified. After the second phase of trial, which focused on testimony from statisticians, the court extrapolated the average amount of overtime reported by the sample group to the class as a whole, resulting in a verdict of $15. The appellate court reversed stating: “A trial plan that relies on statistical sampling must be developed with expert input and must afford the defendant an opportunity to impeach the model or otherwise show its liability is reduced.” (Duran v. U.S. Bank National Association (Cal. Sup. Ct.; May 29, 2014)59 Cal.4th 1, [325 P.3d 916, 172 Cal.Rptr.3d 371].)