From Verdicts & Settlements
(front page story; August 6, 1999)
"Waging a Battle"
Attorney Andrew Ellis settled a class-action claim with Corning Inc. for $1 million after the company failed to pay overtime to employees who worked more than eight hours a shift.
PAGE 6 (story continued)
"Simple Reward"
In less than seven months, plaintiffs' attorney Andrew Ellis settled a $1 million wage class action with Corning Inc.
by BOBBI MURRAY
The situation wasn't all that unusual—795 workers at a plastics plant in a gritty San Fernando Valley neighborhood, an employer that neglects to pay them overtime and an employee who seeks legal help to file a wage claim.
What was unusual was the company's reaction. On Oct 9, 1998, the same day plaintiffs' attorney Andrew Ellis sent a complaint to Corning Inc. about its failure to pay overtime, he got a call from Corning's head counsel. Ellis was taken aback. In his 5 1/2 years of practice, he has been involved in dozens of wage claim battles and has learned not to expect a swift response.
"Within three weeks after the case was filed, we had an agreement in principle in place. Within four or five weeks of that time, we had a signed settlement agreement," Ellis says. "This is the fastest class-action lawsuit that's ever been settled, at least in my eyes. Usually these things take two, three, five or six years."
The outcome wasn't bad either - a $1 million settlement, with $450,000 in attorney fees.
