Class Action

ADEA Class Action Defense Cases-Peterson v. Seagate: Minnesota Federal Court Denies Motion To Certify Interlocutory Appeal Of Order Denying Defense Motion To Dismiss Class Action Claims In Age Discrimination Class Action

By Michael J. Hassen

Order Denying Motion to Dismiss ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act) Class Action Claims did not Warrant Interlocutory Appeal Minnesota Federal Court Holds

Plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against their employer, Seagate, alleging age discrimination in violation of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Peterson v. Seagate U.S. LLC, ___ F.Supp.2d ___, 2008 WL 398968, *1 (D.Minn. February 14, 2008). The putative class action also sought “declaratory relief relating to the enforceability of a purported release and waiver that was signed by many of the plaintiffs upon the termination of their employment with Seagate.” Id. Defense attorneys moved to dismiss the class action as to “the claims of those named plaintiffs that signed a release and waiver”; the district court denied the motion, as well as a subsequent motion for reconsideration. Id. Defense attorneys requested that the district court certify the issue for interlocutory appeal, id. The district court denied the motion.

Defense attorneys sought certification on two grounds: “1) whether nineteen plaintiffs who failed to file an EEOC charge properly exhausted their administrative remedies with respect to their age discrimination claims; and 2) whether the SIRP Release that plaintiff Paul Calcagno signed in connection with Defendants' 2004 voluntary early retirement program is valid and enforceable.” Peterson, at *1. The district court noted that such certification is only appropriate if the order “involves a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial ground for difference of opinion and that an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation.” Id. (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b)). The court concluded that this test was not satisfied.

Full post as published by Class Action Defense Blog on March 27, 2008 (boomark / email).