Donna M. Mezias

For client Home Depot Inc., Mezias recently eliminated five of the plaintiffs' six liability theories in a complex wage and hour potential class action. "The plaintiffs filed for class certification, and their motion changed their theories of liability," she said. "We protested, and while we didn't think that bait and switch was kosher, ultimately it didn't matter." When she analyzed the new claims, Mezias saw a chance to get rid of them on summary judgment. "They were legally defective," she said.

In one claim, the plaintiffs contended that an overtime rate for Home Depot department supervisors was improperly low because it didn't include some bonuses. "We looked at it closely and showed the court that we did calculate the rate properly under certain federal regulations. The demonstration to the court was somewhat complicated. It's not intuitively obvious." But U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez of Sacramento agreed with that and Mezias' additional arguments, granting summary judgment for Home Depot in April 2016 on three claims. In May, Mezias went on to defeat class certification on two additional claims. Bell v. Home Depot U.S.A., 2:12-cv-02499 (E.D. Cal., filed July 18, 2012)

Three other potential class actions against Home Depot concerned the relationship between the company and its service providers. Plaintiffs asserted that Home Depot was liable for the acts of its vendors' delivery drivers and flooring installers. In each of them, Mezias was able to shoot down the theory that Home Depot was liable as a joint employer for claims including unpaid wages and overtime, meal and rest break violations, inaccurate wage statements, false time statements, failure to reimburse business expenses, Private Attorney General Act penalties, unfair competition and fraud.

Mezias' successful defense of those joint employment was critical to Home Depot's business model because the company contracts with more than 4,500 service providers nationwide. "The court looks at the control of the alleged employer over the workers involved," Mezias said. "Home Depot holds its service providers to certain performance standards, but it does not have a direct relationship with the service providers' workers. It doesn't hire or supervise them, and the courts could see that."

Those outcomes were gratifying, Mezias said. "All lawyers enjoy winning. So if we're talking about my successes, that's an easy conversation."

— John Roemer