Nothing speaks louder than results, and our firm has a strong track-record that we have continued to build upon over the last thirty years. Among our verdicts and settlements are:
$19.5 million overtime class action for insurance salespeople
$9 million wrongful death
$8 million orthopedic and psychiatric injury
$8 million head injury
$5.5 million wrongful death
$5.5 million shooting injury
$5.18 million overtime class action for hotel managers
$5 million wrongful death/ premises liability
$4.5 million orthopedic injuries
$4.2 million unsafe roadway
$4 million psychiatric injury
$4 million SUV rollover
$5.4 million class action for unpaid vacation
Results
$134 thousand for negligent supervision of a child riding a dirt bike
An 11 year-old child sustained compound fractures of the left distal tibia and fibula which required surgical intervention when he fell off a dirt bike while in the custody of defendants. Defendants failed to obtain parental consent for the minor child to ride a dirt bike and further failed to provide the minor child proper training, safety equipment, and supervision in the operation of a dirt bike. The minor child had no prior experience in riding dirt bikes. The case settled at mediation for $134,000
$1.4 million for misclassification of Technical Writers
This lawsuit was brought on behalf of Technical Writers employed by Intel Corporation in California who claimed they were misclassified as "exempt" from overtime and meal period protections. Under the terms of the 2010 settlement, Intel paid $1.4 million to resolve the claims of 40 technical writers covered by the litigation. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann represented the class with co-counsel Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe and Bruckner & Burch.
$4.95 million business expense reimbursement for radio outside salespeople
This lawsuit was brought on behalf of Outside Salespeople who sell radio advertising for CBS Radio Inc. The plaintiffs filed claims for reimbursement of business expenses - money they paid out-of pocket for personal automobiles, cellular phones, and other work-related expenses. Under the terms of the 2009 settlement, CBS paid $4.95 to resolve the claims of hundreds of salespeople. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann represented the class with co-counsel Cohelan, Khoury & Singer and Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian.
$5.4 million for unpaid vacation pay to security guards
A class of California security guards recovered $5.413 in unpaid vacation against national private security company. This recovery included all of the vacation unlawfully forfeited under the employer's policy, interest, and penalties. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann represented the class co-counsel Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson
$5.5 million in commission chargebacks and deductions for salespeople
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of inside and outside sales representatives employed in California. Plaintiffs charged that their employer made unlawful deductions and chargebacks from the sales reps' commissions, forcing its employees to insure the company's business losses. Plaintiffs settled the litigation for $5.5 million. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann represented the class with co-counsel Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian.
Up to $850,000 for missed meal periods in retail stores
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of assistant managers and sales associates employed by a major retail chain store. Plaintiff alleged that the sort failed to provide most of its in-store employees with meal periods as required by California law. In 2009 settlement, Defendant agreed to pay up to $850,000 to resole meal period violation and related claims on behalf of current and former store staff members. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann represented the class with co-counsel Sundeen, Salinas & Pyle.
$11.2 million for misclassification of insurance salespeople
Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann, along with co-counsel Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian, recovered $11.2 million for insurances salespeople who had been classified as "exempt." The settlement resolved overtime and related claims on behalf of insurance salespeople in three states, including California.
$2.5 million for overtime and meal period pay for Liability Risk Analysts
Plaintiffs alleged that international banking institution misclassified its Liability Risk Analysts as "exempt" employees and brought claims for overtime, meal period pay, and related claims. The bank settled the litigation for $2.5 million on behalf of 196 risk analysts. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann represented the class with co-counsel from Goldstein Demchak and the Anticouni & Associates firms.
$19.5 million for misclassification of insurance salespeople
After winning a liability finding, Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann and co-counsel Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian obtained a $19.5 million to resolve overtime and related claims on behalf of insurance salespeople who had been misclassified as "exempt" from overtime laws.
$5.18 million for overtime pay to misclassified hotel managers
Hotel managers and assistant managers recovered $5.18 million in a statewide class action settlement with national chain of motels to resolve overtime and related claims. The managers alleged they had been misclassified as "exempt," as they spent most of their time performing the routine work of their subordinates. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann co-counseled this case with Leonard Carder and Newman & Strawbridge firms.
$810,000 to Settle Movie Theater Managers' Overtime and Meal Period Claims:
A class of 60 movie theater managers and assistant managers shared $810,000 recovered against Landmark Theaters, a national chain of independent theaters, for overtime and meal period claims. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann co-counseled the case with the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
$1.8 million for unpaid vacation pay to retail store employees
Department store workers recovered unpaid overtime totaling $1.81 million in a settlement with Gottschalk's, a national retailer. The workers alleged the employer had a vacation policy that resulted in an unlawful forfeiture of accrued vacation time. The Lewis Feinberg and Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld firms were co-counsel.
$1.9 million for unpaid vacation pay to food and facilities management workers
In another unlawful vacation forfeiture case, workers for a multi-national hospitality company recovered $1.9 million. Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann worked on this case with the Lewis Feinberg firm and Law Offices of Jerry Budin.
Gas Pipeline Fire Explosion: Plaintiff was a 29 year old married father of six who was employed as a journeyman laborer for Mountain Cascade when the Kinder Morgan Walnut Creek pipeline explosion occurred. Plaintiff suffered a significant case of post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing two of his co-workers burn to death in front of him. The amount of the settlement is confidential.
Tosco Refinery Fire: Four men were killed and two others injured at the Tosco Corporation Avon refinery in Martinez when highly flammable naphtha spurted from a pipe and ignited. Another worker was injured when Tosco allowed gasoline to leak into a fire water line and a fire hose became a flame thrower. The firm served as lead counsel for all the plaintiffs against Tosco. The claims were based on budget cutbacks by Tosco that resulted in deteriorated maintenance and safety procedures, and caused increased workloads that reached unsafe levels. The Law Offices of Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann settled three of the cases for a total of $21 million.
Death by Deliveryman: After an extensive legal battle, a Santa Clara auction house agreed to pay millions of dollars to settle claims for the wrongful death and injuries suffered by a family as a result of the auction house's failure to uncover an employee's criminal record. Two men invaded a Contra Costa home where they beat and terrorized the occupants and murdered the family's patriarch. One of the invaders gained access to the home having visited previously as an auction deliveryman. The auction house company hired him without conducting a background check, thus failing to discover a prior violent felony conviction. The case settled two days before trial.
Bus Strikes and Kills Cyclist: The Law Offices of Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann settled a wrongful death case against the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority for $1.5 million. The settlement for non-economic damages only was recovered by the parents of a 32 year-old woman who was struck and killed by a bus as she rode her bicycle into the cross-walk on a green light.
Warning - Black Ice: The Law Offices of Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann settled a wrongful death and injury case against the State of California for $1.6 million arising out of a collision caused by black ice on Highway 50. Plaintiffs were returning from Lake Tahoe on a sunny clear morning when they unexpectedly encountered black ice on the roadway that caused their vehicle to cross the center line of the road and strike an oncoming car head-on. We developed evidence that showed the State of California was aware that this location was prone to forming black ice in clear and cold conditions but failed to make the roadway safe.
Land Rover's Side-facing Seats Lead to Child's Death: The Law Offices of Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann settled a design defect case against Land Rover for an amount that is confidential. The wrongful death action arose out of the death of a child, who was killed in a rollover collision involving a Land Rover Discovery I. During the collision, the rear side-facing seat, in which the child was seat belted, was partially ejected through the side window. The child's parents are using the settlement proceeds to establish a foundation to warn the public about the risks of this design.
Heavy Equipment Failure: The operator of a massive hydraulic concrete cutter was severely injured when a hydraulic fitting failed, causing a loss of brakes and steering. As the machine careened down a steep hillside street, the operator was forced to turn off the road to avoid smashing into a passenger car coming up the street. The machine launched into the air, flipped, and came to rest when it smashed into the roof of a garage. The Law Offices of Hinton Alfert Sumner & Kaufmann established that the manufacturer of the machinery had used improper and inadequate hydraulic fittings, which caused the failure. The case settled before trial.
