Oregon Court of Appeals affirms decertification of class action

Last week the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision to decertify a class action against US Bank.  In Belknap v. US Bank, the plaintiffs claimed that defendant employer failed to timely pay a portion of their wages.  In 2004, the trial court certified a plaintiffs' class estimated to include up to 1,900 former employees.  But after two years of discovery and motion practice, the court decertified the class and the case proceeded with just the two named plaintiffs -- only one of whom ultimately won his wage claim at trial.  On appeal, the Court of Appeals concluded that the trial court properly discontinued the class when it became evident that individual fact issues pertinent to each class member's claims would overwhelm any common issues, and plaintiff had no viable plan for trying the claims in an efficient manner.