Coach Worker Denied Class Status for Phone Reimbursement Claim

A Coach store manager seeking reimbursements for work-related cellphone costs failed to show the allegations meet all of the requirements for class certification.

The worker who filed the suit showed that there’s at least one common factual question—whether Coach parent Tapestry Inc. complied with a state-law reimbursement requirement—suitable for classwide resolution. But he didn’t demonstrate that this common question predominates over individual ones, the US District Court for the Southern District of California said in an order docketed Monday.

Plaintiff Carlos Ayala managed a Coach store in California, where Tapestry has approximately 40 retail and outlet locations. He alleges the ...