Overview

HOLDINGS: [1]-In former employees’ putative class action alleging that the employer erroneously categorized them as outside salespersons and thus, violated several state laws, claims for failure to pay minimum wage, failure to pay overtime, failure to provide meal periods, and failure to provide rest periods were not time-barred because the limitations period was equitably tolled as the employer had timely notice of the claims, application of equitable tolling would not prevent the employer from defending the claims on the merits, and the employee acted reasonably and in good faith; [2]-There were disputed issues of material fact as to whether the employees were outside salesperson under Cal. Lab. Code § 1171 because the parties presented conflicting evidence as to whether the employees customarily worked more than half of their time away from the employer’s place of business, litigation lawyer San Diego.

Outcome

Motion granted in part and denied in part.

Overview

HOLDINGS: [1]-Where plaintiff alleged that defendants manufactured, produced, marketed, distributed, and sold a straw hat similar to one of plaintiff’s hat designs, dismissal of plaintiff’s Cal. Civ. Code § 980 common law copyright infringement claim was warranted because plaintiff did not have a federal Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C.S. § 1 et seq., registration for the hat design and plaintiff’s sale and distribution of the design in large scale quantities destroyed whatever rights it had under the common law copyright; [2]-The federal Copyright Act preempted a California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq., claim because the acts underlying defendants’ alleged wrongdoing merely asserted a protectable copyright interest in the hat design and thus, plaintiff had no UCL claim as it was based on plaintiff owning a common law copyright of the hat design.

Outcome

Motions granted in part.