Allison H. Goddard

When customers of Restoration Hardware Inc. provided their zip codes to cashiers upon request, they did not realize their personal information was being collected illegally.

But, after six years of litigation with Goddard as class counsel, consumers obtained $36.4 million.

Then, after one class member objected to the attorneys’ fees, Goddard prevailed at the 4th District Court of Appeal. The case was then reviewed by the California Supreme Court, which also sided with the consumers, holding that unnamed class members must first intervene in trial court to appeal a class judgment, settlement or attorney fee award. Hernandez v. Restoration Hardware, 4 Cal. 5th 260 (2018).

Goddard compares the class action trifecta to a hat trick in hockey.

“For nerdy lawyers, it was pretty cool to win at every phase of the case,” she said. “And we made law. It resolved an issue about objector standing in class actions that will impact class actions throughout the state.”

In another precedential case, Goddard was counsel for a class of litigants contending that private court reporters — now common because of budget cuts — were charging excessive transcription fees. Under the government code, statutory transcription rates are set at about 85 cents per page.

“What was happening is private court reporters were charging up to six dollars a page, and setting their prices Wild West-style,” Goddard said, adding that some fees were as high as $600 for a 30-minute motion.

In a published decision, the 2nd District Court of Appeal concluded that the statutory rates apply not only to court reporters employed by superior courts, but to private court reporters, as well. Burd v. Barkley Court Reporters, 17 Cal. App. 5th 1037 (2017).

“It really promotes access to justice,” she said. “It levels the playing field and makes it more possible for litigants who have lesser means to fully litigate in court.”

Goddard recently obtained a $3.4 million verdict for San Diego State University’s former women’s basketball coach, Beth Burns, who claimed her termination was retaliation for her complaints about potential Title IX violations by the athletic department.

While the hard-won victory was rewarding for Goddard, she said that protecting “the little guy” in consumer and class action cases are especially satisfying.

“I’m kind of like a megaphone for people who can’t necessarily make an impact advocating for themselves,” she said. “I can step in and make a difference in their lives, and I like that.”

— Mark Armao