Legal Aid of Marin

Employment Matters

SETTLED CASES:

Pedro Arceo-Alcocer, Alfredo Chan, William Bacab v. Restaurant in San Rafael – Senior Staff Attorney Karen Carrera and co-counsel Pat Goldman sent Defendants a demand letter for wage and hour violations and workplace sexual orientation harassment. The parties agreed to attend mediation with Marin Mediator Patricia Prince on November 8, 2011. Allegations included inappropriate and offensive language of a sexual nature, sexual groping, propositioning employees for sexual favors, failure to pay overtime, failure to provide rest and meal breaks and failure to provide accurate wage records. The parties reached a confidential settlement.

Hernandez v. Paredez Farms – Senior Staff Attorney Karen Carrera and Staff Attorney Maura Prendiville, with Co-Counsel Carolyn Cottrell from the law firm of Wallace, Schneider, Cottrell, et al., filed a wage and hour class action on behalf of 38 farmer’s market workers and fruit pickers. The case settled with a Class Action Settlement for $310,000 on October 11, 2011, before the Hon. Raul A. Ramirez, Retired. Plaintiffs and the Class alleged that Frank Paredez and Ramon Rojas failed to pay their employees overtime and provide rest and meal breaks, failed to provide wage statements and misclassified employees as independent contractors. Employees toiled for 14-16 hours at Defendant’s farms and sold fruit and other produce at seven Bay Area farmer’s markets. Approval of the Class Action Settlement is expected in 2012.

Lorena Rodas v. Jaime Perez dba Green Cleaners – Ms. Rodas, a 19-year-old woman who was sexually harassed by her employer. Rodas' employer, the owner of a Marin janitorial company, physically assaulted her and groped her. She called the police but the local department failed to take a report. Ms. Rodas was very brave to seek assistance from Legal Aid of Marin because she is a Latina immigrant it is very difficult to report such issues about your employer. Ms. Rodas filed a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) and a demand letter was sent to her employer. With the help of the DFEH investigator, Legal Aid of Marin was able to obtain a satisfactory settlement for Ms. Rodas.

Housing Cases

Olivia Wade – Ms. Wage is a 91 year old African American woman with a Section 8 voucher. She is blind and has mobility problems. She received a 30 day notice from Marshall and Co. Property Management because the landlord desired to re-model her unit and move in his resident manager. On September 23, LAM called Marshall Property Management and informed them that Ms. Wade requires the two-bedroom unit that she is currently residing at in Novato because it is near her niece and caregiver. LAM negotiated with Marshall Property Management and was successful in persuading them that Ms. Wade should remain in her apartment. Ms. Wade was relocated into a similarly sized and newly remodeled unit in the same complex at the owner’s expense.

Consumer Cases

Deborah Daneman v. Matambanadzo – On July 6, 2011, LAM and co-counsel, Joe Wilson, filed a Complaint in Superior Court, for fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. Ms. Daneman is a 59-year old woman and an alleged victim of investment fraud. She was approached at a senior center where Defendant’s wife induced her to trust her husband, an investment broker, and gave him $30,000 to invest on her behalf. Ms. Daneman was promised monthly dividends and statements but never received them. We are prosecuting her claims. LAM and Wilson filed a default judgment against the Defendant and is seeking to collect the judgment.

Cases from the distant past

CONTEMPO MARIN HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION V. MANUFACTURED HOME COMMUNITIES, INC., Marin Superior Court No. CV006355 (filed December 28, 2000). Co-counsel: Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy. This mobilehome park is subject to a local rent control ordinance. In violation of that ordinance, and of an arbitrator's award, the park owner, a Chicago-based corporation that owns 150 mobilehome parks in 26 states, attempted increase rents by several hundred thousand dollars more than what it was entitled to impose. The Park owner has been extremely aggressive in its attempts to increase profitability, including bringing a federal lawsuit to challenge the rent ordinance's vacancy control provision. Our motion for summary judgment was granted on two key causes of action, and upheld on writ review by the court of appeal. This matter was successfully settled in early 2006.

ANA BERNABE, ET AL. V. AMK ENTERPRISES, ET AL.  (Jack-In-The-Box Case), Marin superior  Court No. CV051781 (filed April 22, 2005) Co-Counsel Karen C.  Carrera, Virginia Villegas and Mark Talamantes of Talamantes/Villegas/Carrera, LLP.  Owners of two local restaurants failed to pay overtime, provide meal and rest periods, sexually harassed employees, and maintained unsafe work conditions, among other allegations.

DEMECIO GUTIERREZ, ET AL., V. MAGRUDER., ET AL (MARIN McDONALD'S), Marin Super. Court No. CV-043269 (filed July, 2004) Legal Aid of Marin, brought this class action suit together with co-counsel Talamantes/Villegas/Carrera and Chavez & Gertler against the Marin County franchisee of McDonald's Restaurants, Michael Magruder. The suit alleges that the chain has engaged in several schemes for cheating workers out of overtime, rest breaks, and lunch breaks, shaving employee time from payroll reports, and in some cases, having employees work under more than one name (the worker would have to punch out after eight hours, then punch in under the second name to avoid incurring overtime). In February, 2005, the Plaintiffs obtained a restraining order to stop the Defendants from intimidating workers into signing individual settlement agreements.

Pending Cases - Testimonials - Success Stories