Watkins

Plaintiffs and appellants Felicia M. Watkins and Patricia Brown are former employees of defendant and appellant Wachovia. They brought a class action against Wachovia, seeking damages for unpaid overtime compensation, for themselves and a purported class of similarly situated workers. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Wachovia against Brown, on the basis that Brown had signed a release of all claims in exchange for enhanced benefits upon her termination from Wachovia. Thereafter, the court denied Watkins’s motion for class certification. Subsequently, Watkins settled her own claims against Wachovia, but attempted to retain the right to appeal the denial of class certification in her representative capacity. We conclude summary judgment was appropriately granted with respect to Brown, and that Watkins no longer has standing to pursue this appeal. We therefore affirm the judgment against Brown and dismiss Watkins’s appeal.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Wachovia has 36 branches in California. Both Brown and Watkins were employed as “sales assistants,” who assisted stockbrokers with client contact and numerous other tasks. Some of Wachovia’s sales…