Calif. Court Certifies |Diva Limo Class Action

(CN) - A California appeals court allowed a group of limousine drivers to bring a class action against Diva Limousine for its alleged failure to pay for on-call time between shifts.

Sarkis Ghazaryan and his colleagues sued the limo company, but the trial court declined to certify the class.

Drivers usually make between five and eight runs in the Los Angeles area, and 75 percent have permission to take their vehicles home and commute to their first runs. Drivers must remain on-call between runs and cannot use the limos for personal use.

Justice Perluss ruled that the trial court improperly rejected the merits of the claims before deciding whether class certification was appropriate.

The court reversed and remanded with orders to certify the subclasses defined in the plaintiff's motion. Perluss noted that although Diva's payment policy might be legitimate, the plaintiffs should be allowed to proceed with their class action.

"Based on the evidence submitted by Diva in opposition to the motion," Perluss wrote, "its compensation policy may be carefully drafted; and Diva may very well find its policy upheld as reasonable."

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