Dykema Case Recognized as one of California’s Top Verdicts of 2025

Dykema, a leading national law firm, is proud to announce that a case the firm handled as defense counsel, Northwest Pallet Services LLC Wage and Hour Cases, was recognized as one of the “Top Verdicts of 2025” in California by the Daily Journal in its annual Top Verdicts supplement.

In the San Bernardino County Superior Court, a Dykema trial team secured a significant victory in a high-stakes meal break class action. While plaintiffs representing a class of up to 1,900 former employees sought more than $18 million in damages, the jury awarded just $149,000—a small fraction of the original claim.

The case centered on alleged violations of California’s meal break laws. The trial presented a unique legal challenge regarding the "rebuttable presumption" standard established by the 2021 California Supreme Court ruling in Donohue v. AMN Services, LLC. This standard typically places a heavy evidentiary burden on employers who do not possess complete meal break records. The Northwest Pallet case is notable as one of the first instances where an employer successfully rebutted this presumption using comprehensive time-keeping data.

The Dykema team, led by Abad Lopez and Charlotte Carne, along with Harry N. Arger, James M. Golden, and Christine A. Mardikian, successfully argued that irregularities in the data often reflected employee preference or administrative rounding rather than a systemic denial of breaks. By managing evidence to limit the scope of expert analyses and conducting targeted cross-examinations, the team demonstrated that the company provided all employees with the opportunity to take compliant, timely breaks.

This recognition continues Dykema’s strong track record in the Daily Journal’s annual feature. The firm has seen multiple cases honored over the past several years.