Malone and Souza v KAG West LLC

Update: January, 2019 – Motion for Final Approval GRANTED!

We’re glad to inform you that the court granted our motion for final approval of settlement of this case against Keenan Advantage Group (“KAG”).  Did you drive a truck for KAG in California between March 10, 2012 and February 12, 2018?  You may well be a member of this class action!

Disbursement of the funds will be made by Simpluris, Inc., the Third Party Administrator for this case.  As in all of our cases, we remind you, if you believe you qualify to be a class member in this case, to please be on the lookout for a check, although that is not scheduled to happen until May, 2019.

In particular, if you have moved since you began employment with KAG  your check might be misaddressed, misdelivered or lost in the mail.  So if you believe your are a class member, be sure to watch your mail for a check, beginning around the first week of May, 2019 or so.   You can call Simpluris at (800) 779-2104.  

If you do not receive your check by the end of May, 2019, please contact Simpluris, the third-party administrator which is coordinating the mailing of the payments to the class.  

Another reminder.  You will only have 180 days to cash your check as set forth in the settlement.  Please keep that in mind.  Some people hold on to them, not wanting to cash them for their own reasons, perhaps – but you and they have to keep that time limit in mind.

Finally, you may call our office if you have any questions about your employment with KAG or regarding any other employment matter you might have now, or have had in the past.  Whether it relates to driving a truck or some other job, perhaps we can assist you, your friends or family in that regard as well.

Call us at 626-795-0205 or 818-547-5200.  Or feel free to email me at Tom@falveylaw.com.    
        
Thanks very much for your patience in helping us see this matter through to a very successful conclusion.

Update: September, 2018 – Motion for Preliminary Approval GRANTED!

To bring you up to date, last month the court granted our motion for preliminary approval of settlement of this case.  Did you drive a truck for KAG in California between March 10, 2012 and February 12, 2018?  You may well be a member of this class action!

Please be patient, however.  The hearing on the Motion for FINAL Approval will not take place until early next year, as shown on the attached order of the Court.

If you’re a member of this class, you should be getting a notice of the terms of the settlement sometime later this month or next month.  If you don’t receive such a notice, it might mean your notice was misaddressed, or lost in the mail, or for some reason you weren’t included in the mailing.

So if you don’t get such a notice by November 30, 2018, feel free to call our office at either 626.795.0205 or 818-547-5200, or email us at tom@falveylaw.com.  

Likewise if you have any thoughts or concerns about any aspect of your employment, either with KAG or any other employer – whether it relates to driving a truck or some other job – we’ll be glad to speak with  you.

Thanks so much.

Tom Falvey

Update: April 3, 2017 – Where We Are and Where We Might Be Going and Where you Might Go

Some of you were aware that we went to mediation a while ago.

If you hadn’t heard already, you should know that the litigation was not resolved there, and is still ongoing.

In fact, we have two cases pending against KAG West, one individually in an arbitration and the other in what is called a PAGA representative action (see attached).

This added information might help.  We first filed a class action in the Alameda County Superior Court in September, 2015.  It would have covered the kind of work set forth in that lawsuit going four years back from the time of the filing of that complaint.  

But KAG then immediately got the case transferred (removed) to Federal Court, on the basis we couldn’t proceed with a class action because Mr. Malone had signed an arbitration prohibiting class actions and class action arbitrations.  Unfortunately, the U. S. District Court agreed with KAG.  So for right now we are proceeding with an arbitration only on behalf of Mr. Malone.

In order to attempt to get something for all of potential individuals who drove for KAG in California, we then filed a Private Attorney General Action (“PAGA”) with Mr. Souza as the plaintiff.  This works somewhat like a class action but is technically different under the law. However, that case only covers time worked going back to a year before we filed that complaint in May of 2016 (so it covers from May, 2015 forward).

At this point you can do one of several things.  You can help us by calling or emailing us, and providing us with the names and contact information of your fellow drivers.  You can also call us if you might want to file your own request for your own arbitration.  

Or you can call any other attorney to talk about that as well.  Or you can request help from the Labor Commissioner.  Or you can do nothing at all.  It’s up to you.

If you do want to do something, however, we recommend you either call us at 818-547-5200 or any other attorney you like, to find out more about your rights and the requirements for you to go ahead with such a case.

If you do nothing, you may get nothing for such unpaid wages, especially if you stopped working for KAG in California before May, 2015 and you were doing the things alleged in our complaint.

Please.  Call us at 818-547-5200 if you want more information.  Or email tom@falveylaw.com.

In fact, maybe you just want to help out and want to talk to us, or have documents you think might help us.

If so, for sure, get hold of us as soon as you can.  

You might even send stuff to us in the mail (paystubs or schedules or texts or email, that kind of thing).  It’s happened before.  You never know how it might help now.

Thanks very much.  We hope to hear from you soon.

Questions about your employment with KAG West


If you worked at KAG West in California since September 2011 (during the last six years):

  • Did KAG ever fail to reimburse you for expenses you incurred, such as the use of your phone?
  • How often were you required to work off the clock each day while working for KAG – either at the start or the end of your shift?
  • Did KAG ever overload your workday, such that it was impossible to take even a 10-minute rest break or a 30-minute meal break?  

If KAG didn’t tell you this, in California, if an employee is prevented from being able to take a rest break or meal break because the employer gives him too much work, that missed break means the employer owes ONE HOUR’S PAY for that day.  So if you couldn’t take a rest break that day, you were owed one hour’s pay.  Same if you couldn’t take a meal break, or had to take it after six hours of work.  That’s right.  If you missed both, you were owed two hours’ pay for that day.

  • Did KAG ever deduct what you were owed for any damage you allegedly caused while working?
  • Did you ever complain about any of these things? What happened as a result of your complaint?


If you had any complaints about your employment with KAG, or any comments or questions, please call us.  818-547-5200.  

Thanks very much.  We hope to hear from you soon.

Update: January 12, 2017 – KAG wants to go to mediation, but hasn’t provided any documentation to help us evaluate the case

We Need YOUR help!

Do you remember Thanksgiving?  How about Labor Day?  Before Labor Day?  Back then, KAG proposed we go to mediation.  It took a while to schedule, but it’s set to go next month, in February.        

So just before Thanksgiving, KAG indicated it was working on getting us information so we could mediate this case next month.

Still haven’t received a thing, however.

SO ONCE AGAIN, WE NEED YOUR HELP!  Did You – or – Do You drive for KAG in California?  Do you have any trip sheets, schedules, texts, emails, earnings statements, memos, employee manuals – Anything At All – that might help us prepare to try to settle this case?

Or how about names of other drivers?  Probably in your phone you have the names and numbers of other drivers, don’t you?

Can you get that information to us?  Call us at 818-547-5200 or email tom@falveylaw.com, or drop it by our office!  

Thanks for whatever you can do.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Proposed Class Action

A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against KAG WEST LLC (hereafter, “KAG”) on behalf of employees designated as delivery truck drivers who worked for KAG in CAlifornia at any time since September 1, 2011.  The case is entitled Patrick Malone v KAG WEST LLC, Case No. RG 15784137 in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda (see copy of complaint attached).  It was thereafter removed (transferred) to United States District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. 3:15-cv-04262.  

KAG then filed a Petition to Compel Arbitration of Respondent’s Claims on an individual basis as Case #3:15-cv-03827.  The court granted that motion, such that the case is now to be heard before an arbitrator, including whether a class action may be heard in that arbitration.  No date has as yet been set for that arbitration, but it is expected to take place sometime in 2017.

In his lawsuit, filed on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, the plaintiff (Mr. Malone) contends that KAG did not comply with the requirements under California law for payment of wages, including for all work done when Plaintiff undertook the daily processes in the delivery of fuel and other oil based products to locations within the state of California at the direction of KAG.  It seeks damages for missed meal breaks, missed rest breaks, for failure to pay for all hours worked and minimum wage violations, inaccurate wage statements and failure to pay all wages due at the time they were due or at the termination of the employee, and for unreimbursed business expenses. If successful, a class action allows former and current employees to receive back wages that are owed to them.

KAG denies the claims in their entirety and contends that it has followed California law with respect to the payment of wages to its employees.  It also contends that plaintiff must arbitrate his case, rather than have it heard before a judge or jury, and further claims that the case cannot be brought as a class action..  The case is to be heard by an arbitrator, who has not yet ruled on any of Plaintiff’s allegations or determined whether the case is appropriate for class action status.

If you are or were a KAG employee working in a similar capacity or having a similar job title in California since September 1, 2011, we would like to speak with you.  Please contact us by either calling us at 818-547-5200 or 626-795-0205, or by mailing us at 550 North Brand Blvd., Suite 1500, Glendale, California 91203.  

If you like, it might be easiest for you to email us at tom@falveylaw.com.

Your calling and contacting us may help us in this case. If you have any documents relating to your job there, such as copies of earnings statements, checks, paystubs, text messages, anything you signed, names of fellow employees, manuals, emails, letters, timesheets, schedules or anything else, it might help us and others to see them.

We and they would be very grateful for any assistance you can provide. Your call might go a long way toward helping many employees at KAG.  Thanks very much.  We hope to hear from you soon.