Lampe v. Queen of the Valley Medical Center

A trial court can deny class certification if the plaintiffs are seeking certification for classes that were not identified in the operative complaint. A trial judge properly denied certification of a class of workers whose overtime wages were allegedly based on improper calculations of their regular rate of pay where the workers failed to demonstrate what items were or were not included in the regular rate calculation, or any details as to why any of the items should or should not be included. Without such evidence, the judge could not determine if there was an ascertainable and numerous class with a defined community of interest. A trial judge properly denied class certification for a group of workers who claimed their employer had required them to leave work early since an individualized assessment was necessary to determine who left at the employer's request, and who voluntarily left. A trial judge properly denied class certification for a group of workers who claimed they were denied timely meal breaks because it would require individualized inquiries to determine which workers did not take breaks and why.

Lampe v. Queen of the Valley Medical Center - filed Jan. 2, 2018, publication ordered Jan. 23, 2018, First District, Div. Four
Cite as 2018 S.O.S. 420

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