Ramos v. Garcia, 2016 WL 3537366 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016)

Rogelio Ramos sued his former employers for unpaid overtime, minimum wages and other compensation and obtained some of the monetary recovery he requested. Ramos also sued Manuel Garcia (Ramos's former manager) under the same theories and lost on the ground that Garcia was a co-employee and not the owner/employer; the trial court awarded Garcia $29,295 in prevailing-party attorney's fees pursuant to Labor Code § 218.5. The Court of Appeal reversed the judgment, holding that Section 218.5 is inapplicable to Garcia because the statute was not intended to authorize an attorney's fee award against an employee who unsuccessfully sues a fellow employee for alleged nonpayment of wages.

Former Employee's Manager Is Not Entitled To Prevailing-Party Attorney's Fees

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