Bignardi v. Flextronics America, LLC, Case No. RG09449663, California Superior Court, County of Alameda

In April 2009, Rudy Exelrod Zieff & Lowe, together with co-counsel Borowsky & Hayes, filed a proposed class action complaint against Flextronics America, LLC (formerly Solectron) on behalf of “Area Team Leaders” (later called “Territory Managers”) who were assigned to work at Verizon Wireless stores in California for unpaid overtime and other violations of the California Labor Code and Unfair Competition Law. The lawsuit alleges that Flextronics incorrectly classified Area Team Leaders/Territory Managers as “exempt” from the laws that require the payment of overtime and other California Labor Code provisions that protect non-exempt employees. (When the case was originally filed, “Team Leaders” were also proposed to be part of the case, and they were included in the Complaint accordingly. However, because there was an earlier lawsuit brought on behalf of Team Leaders, called Wahab v. Flextronics, and the Wahab lawsuit was already in the process of being settled, the plaintiffs in our Bignardi case decided not to pursue any claims on behalf of Team Leaders.)

After conducting discovery and investigation for several months, the parties participated in a “mediation” session presided over by a professional mediator and reached an agreement to settle all the claims in the case for a total payment of $1,150,000 by Flextronics, including attorney’s fees and costs (subject to court approval). The class for settlement purposes is comprised of approximately 41 individuals who were employed in California by Flextronics (or Solectron) as Area Team Leaders or Territory Managers and assigned to Verizon Wireless stores in California at any time during the period from April 29, 2005 until July 12, 2010.

Because this is a class action settlement, the proposed settlement must be approved by the Court in order to be effective. On July 12, 2010, the Court signed an order that preliminarily approves the proposed settlement, including approving the case to proceed as a class action for settlement purposes only. The Court approved a form of notice to be mailed to class members that informs them about the case and the proposed settlement, as well as a “Claim Form” which class members must timely submit in order to receive any money from the proposed settlement.

The Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to give final approval to the proposed settlement on October 7, 2010 at 3:00 pm.

You may use the links that appear at the bottom of this page to view important documents in the case, including the complete terms of the proposed settlement and the Court’s order giving preliminary approval to the settlement.

If you have any questions about the proposed settlement or any other questions about the case, please call Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe toll-free at 1-800-869-0165.

The mailing of the settlement notice and claim forms to class members is expected to take place on July 30, 2010. If you believe you are a class member but have not received the notice of the proposed settlement in the mail, please call our firm without delay at 1-800-869-0165. Also, if you believe you are a class member, and you have changed addresses at any time since you stopped working for Flextronics (or Solectron), please contact us right away to provide your current address. This will increase the chances that you receive important mailings relating to the case.

You may view the proposed settlement and other important documents in the case by clicking on the links below:

Proposed Settlement
Order Preliminarily Approving the Proposed Settlement
Notice of Proposed Settlement
Claim Form
Plaintiffs' Complaint
Defendant's Answer to the Complaint