Solar Workers Get Class Certification in Site Shutdown Lawsuit

A class of around 300 former Alta Devices Inc. employees was certified in their case against the defunct solar company, which is accused of failing to properly warn its workers when it closed its facility.

Scott Gunderson sued Alta in 2019 on behalf of similarly situated workers who were allegedly part of mass layoffs and plant closures and didn’t receive the required notice under the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification Act. Plaintiffs say there are between 240 and 300 class members who were laid off when a facility in California closed.

On Jan. 21, 2021, named plaintiffs including Gunderson, Daniel Patterson, Ben Lenail, Brendan Kayes, James Bustamante, Octavi Semonin, and Annett Suess moved for class certification and to appoint Lankenau & Miller LLP, Gardner Firm PC, and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy LLP as class counsel. The motion also sought to appoint those same named plaintiffs as class representatives.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted the certification motion Wednesday, holding that each of the Rule 23(a) requirements was satisfied. The plaintiffs satisfied the numerosity requirement because other class actions have been certified with as few as 14 members, according to the court.

The plaintiffs also satisfied the commonality, typicality, and adequacy requirements under Rule 23(a), as well as the Rule 23(b)(3) requirements: predominance and superiority.

Judge Beth Labson Freeman further granted the plaintiffs’ request to appoint the requested firms as class counsel.

“Plaintiffs have retained highly capable counsel with extensive experience in prosecuting Federal WARN Act class actions,” Freeman wrote in the order.

The court further found that the plaintiffs’ proposed class notice and notice plan were appropriate.

Alta is represented by SAC Attorneys LLP.

The case is Gunderson v. Alta Devices Inc., N.D. Cal., No. 5:19-cv-08017, 5/19/21.