Bates v. Rubio's Restaurants, Inc.

The parties in this wage and hour class action litigation entered into a $7.5 million settlement agreement, providing for three payments of $2.5 million to approved class members. After the initial $2.5 million payment was distributed among 529 approved class members, defendant and appellant Rubio’s Restaurants, Inc. (Rubio’s) realized it had not provided the names of all potential class members to the settlement administrator. One hundred forty potential class members had not received notification of the settlement.

After postjudgment briefing and status conferences, the court mled that the 140 late-identified class members should receive notice and be folded into the settlement agreement. Later, the judge reconsidered his mling sua sponte and vacated it. In the same minute order, the judge, citing Code of Civil Procedure section 170.1, subdivision (a)(6)(A)(i), then recused himself from any further proceedings in the matter, in the interests of justice.

Named plaintiffs Kerry O. Bartlett (Bartlett) and Justin Bates (Bates), the respondents herein, contend the appeal must be dismissed as taken from a nonappealable order. We reject this contention. The order in question…