Royal Pacific Funding Corp. v. Arneson CA4/3

Linda Arneson worked for Pacific Mortgage, partly on salary, partly on commission. After she left Pacific in February 2013, she claimed she was owed commissions for, among other things, certain work done by a fellow employee as part of her team. Representing herself, she filed a wage claim with the state Labor Commissioner, and, in October 2013, obtained an award of approximately $29,500. Pacific timely filed an appeal to the Orange County Superior Court, and timely filed a bond guaranteeing Arneson’s award. The appeal prompted Arneson to seek legal counsel in mid-December 2013. Her counsel substituted into the case on January 10, and six days later the court scheduled a pretrial conference for early March 2014, and the appeal itself for late March. In early February, Arneson’s new counsel did some very effective saber rattling by serving Pacific notice that Arneson was reserving the right to present claims beyond just unpaid commissions at the scheduled hearing on the appeal, such as violations of various Labor Code sections and even fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Pacific concluded that fighting potential new claims was not the better part of valor and, in late…