Free Declaration - District Court of California - California

Case 3:08-cv-00094-DMS-AJB

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Filed 03/14/2008

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Gordon & Rees LLP 633 West Fifth Street Suite 4900 Los Angeles, CA 90071

STEPHEN E. RONK (SBN: 164333) JOSHUA B. WAGNER (SBN: 199570) MOLLIE BURKS-THOMAS (SBN: 222112) GORDON & REES LLP 633 West Fifth Street, Suite 4900 Los Angeles, CA 90071 Telephone: (213) 576-5000 Facsimile: (213) 680-4470 Attorneys for Defendant AKAL SECURITY, INC. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA DAVID LOERA, for himself and on ) behalf of all others similarly situated and ) the general public, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) AKAL SECURITY, INC., a corporation; ) and DOES 1-100, inclusive, ) ) Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) /// /// /// /// /// ///
1 DECLARATION OF MOLLIE BURKS-THOMAS

CASE NO. 08CV0094 DMS AJB DECLARATION OF MOLLIE BURKS-THOMAS IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT AKAL SECURITY, INC.'S OPPOSITION TO MOTION FOR REMAND AND REQUEST FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES AND COSTS (28 U.S.C. § 1447(c)) [Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Motion and Declaration of Janet Gunn filed concurrently herewith] Date: March 28, 2008 Time: 1:30 p.m. Courtroom: 10

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Case 3:08-cv-00094-DMS-AJB

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Filed 03/14/2008

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Gordon & Rees LLP 633 West Fifth Street Suite 4900 Los Angeles, CA 90071

DECLARATION OF MOLLIE BURKS-THOMAS I, MOLLIE BURKS-THOMAS, declare as follows: 1. I am an attorney with Gordon & Rees LLP, counsel of record for Defendant AKAL Security, Inc. ("AKAL" or "Defendant") in this action. The facts set forth herein are true of my own personal knowledge and, if called and sworn as a witness, I could and would competently do so under oath. 2. On December 18, 2007, the Honorable Christopher W. Yeager, Judge Presiding in Department 1 of the Imperial County Superior Court, State of California granted Plaintiff leave to file a Second Amended Complaint. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint. 3. In support of the Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint, counsel for Plaintiff declared that it was not until October of 2007 that he and his co-counsel first discovered that potential causes of action for failure to pay overtime premium pay and waiting-time penalties existed. Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and correct copy of the Declaration of Bernard F. King III filed in Support of Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint. 4. Plaintiff filed his Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint while AKAL's Motion for Summary Judgment was pending. One of AKAL's arguments in support of its Motion for Summary Judgment, which was filed November 2, 2007, was that Plaintiff David Loera ­ the only class representative at the time ­ failed to exercise his right to appeal the California Labor Commissioner's decision denying his claims relating to missed meal periods and rest breaks, and therefore the Labor Commissioner's decision was an enforceable judgment barring Plaintiff's action pursuant to res judicata principles. 5. On January 16, 2008, I caused AKAL's Notice of Removal of State Court Action to Federal Court to be filed in the Superior Court of Imperial County. Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a true and correct conformed copy of AKAL's
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Case 3:08-cv-00094-DMS-AJB

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Filed 03/14/2008

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Gordon & Rees LLP 633 West Fifth Street Suite 4900 Los Angeles, CA 90071

Notice of Removal of State Court Action to Federal Court. Executed this 14th day of March, 2008. I declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to the laws of the United States of America and the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. /s/ Mollie Burks-Thomas Mollie Burks-Thomas, Declarant E-mail: [email protected]

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AKAL/1039887/5514229v.1

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