Brooks v. AmeriHome Mortgage Co. CA2/6

Filed 7/7/22 Brooks v. AmeriHome Mortgage Co. CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

ANTHONY BROOKS, 2d Civil No. B313818 (Super. Ct. No. 56-2019- Plaintiff and Appellant, 00524903-CU-OE-VTA) (Ventura County) v.

AMERIHOME MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC,

Defendant and Respondent.

Appellant Anthony Brooks appeals from an order denying his motion to vacate a judgment approving a settlement in the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA) action filed by Cheryl Ceballos against respondent AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC. (Lab. Code,1 § 2698 et seq.) We affirm.

1 Further unspecified references are to the Labor Code.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Brooks Action Brooks was an employee of AmeriHome. In January 2019, Brooks submitted a PAGA notice (§ 2699.3) to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) alleging violations for failure to (1) pay minimum and overtime wages, (2) provide meal periods and rest breaks, (3) timely pay wages during employment, (4) timely pay wages upon termination, (5) provide complete and accurate wage statements, and (6) reimburse business expenses. The next month, Brooks filed a PAGA complaint in Ventura County Superior Court in case number 56- 2019-00524903 (Brooks Action) alleging the same violations. AmeriHome moved to stay the PAGA action pending arbitration of Brooks’s individual claims. Brooks filed a motion for preliminary injunction to enjoin the arbitration proceedings. The trial court granted Brooks’s injunction and denied AmeriHome’s stay. AmeriHome appealed, and we affirmed. (Brooks v. AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC (2020) 47 Cal.App.5th 624.) Superior court proceedings were stayed during the appeal. Ceballos Action In November 2019, Ceballos, another employee of respondent, submitted a PAGA notice to the LWDA alleging violations for failure to (1) keep adequate records, (2) provide meal breaks, (3) provide rest periods, (4) pay minimum wage, (4) pay overtime, (5) pay timely wages during employment, (6) provide complete and accurate wage statements, and failure to pay all wages upon termination. In February 2020, Ceballos filed her complaint in Ventura County Superior Court case number 56-2020-00540153 (Ceballos Action) alleging the same violations.