On September 18, 2020, we filed putative collective and class action against Better Mortgage Corporation (“Better Mortgage”). The plaintiff asserts claims on behalf of himself and other similarly situated individuals nationwide. Better Mortgage Corporation operates throughout the United States, with offices in Irvine, California; Oakland, California; New York, New York; and Charlotte, North Carolina. It employs mortgage underwriters working in or based out of its branch offices as well as underwriters working remotely from home offices. Plaintiff asserts that he and other mortgage underwriters regularly worked overtime hours and were paid a salary with no extra pay for their overtime hours. The Complaint alleges that Better Mortgage misclassified its mortgage underwriters as exempt from overtime protections of state and federal law, and improperly denied them overtime pay and other wages that were due.
The plaintiff brought the case as a putative collective action under the FLSA and as class action under California law, seeking to recover unpaid overtime compensation, liquidated (double) damages, meal and rest period premiums, and other statutorily-permitted relief for himself and other similarly situated mortgage underwriters.
Our firm has partnered with attorneys C. Andrew Head and Bethany Hilbert of Head Law Firm, LLC in Chicago, Illinois in representing the plaintiffs in this case.
This case is entitled Dominguez et al v. Better Mortgage Corporation, Case No. 8:20-cv-01784 (Central District of California)
Case Updates
On October 1, 2021, Plaintiff filed a motion asking the district court to invalidate certain arbitration and release agreements, arguing that they had been obtained through misleading communications. On May 17, 2022, the district court ruled in our favor, finding that those release and arbitration agreements had been obtained through coercive and misleading communications. The district court entered another order on July 21, 2022 regarding the same issues.
Better Mortgage appealed the court’s decision to Ninth Circuit. On December 7, 2023, the Ninth Circuit panel ruled on the appeals. The panel affirmed certain aspects of the district court’s decision, and dismissed the appeal as to the other aspects of the district court’s decision. Therefore, assuming there are no further appeals at this time, the order from the district court would remain fully in place and anyone who signed one of the release or arbitration agreements may remain in the court case.
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Is This a Class Action? What Does that Mean?
This case is both a potential collective action under federal law and a potential class action under California state law. This means that, depending on the type of claim you have, there may be a slightly different process for joining and participating in this suit. See below for more details on this process.
Though the process and terminology may differ slightly, the idea behind both a class and collective action is the same: it allows one or more people to sue on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims. In order to proceed as a group, though, the Court must certify the class and collective. Because we are in the early stages of the case, this has not happened yet, but we intend to seek the company’s agreement or file the motions at the appropriate times asking the Court to grant these certifications.
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Which Locations Are Included?
This case seeks to include all mortgage underwriters that work or have worked for Better Mortgage anywhere across the country within the past three years.
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What Time Frame Does This Case Cover?
There is a federal time limit, called a statute of limitations, that allows workers to recover unpaid overtime wages within two years of the worker signing up to join the lawsuit by completing and returning the consent form referenced above. If we can prove that Better Mortgage willfully violated the law, the statute of limitations may be extended to three years. The statute of limitations for the California state law claims in the complaint is as long as four years.
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Do I Have to Pay Anything?
You do not have to pay anything if you join the lawsuit. We are handling this case on a contingency basis. This means we will only be paid if the lawsuit is successful in obtaining relief either through a settlement, award, or a final judgment, and that payment will only come out of that settlement, award, or final judgment.
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How Do I Prove I Worked Overtime?
If you have records of the hours you worked, please preserve and keep them until we ask you for them. However, you do not need to have records of your work hours to make a claim for your overtime pay in this case. If Better Mortgage did not keep accurate time records, most courts will permit you to estimate your work hours. Through this lawsuit, we will seek any records the company may have of your hours worked as well.
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What About Retaliation?
It is against the law for an employer to retaliate against a person for joining a lawsuit to reclaim unpaid wages. If you currently work for Better Mortgage and you believe you may be the victim of retaliation for joining or participating in this lawsuit, contact the case clerk, Bridget Peterson, at bpeterson@nka.com or (612) 256-3259 immediately.
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How Long Will This Case Take?
The length of this kind of lawsuit varies from case to case, but they typically last one to three years.
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Is There Money Available Now?
No. This is a pending lawsuit. There is no money currently available and there is no guarantee that you will receive money for joining the lawsuit.
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How Can I Help?
There is strength in numbers in these types of cases. If you know any mortgage underwriters interested in making a claim for unpaid overtime, they should contact the contact the case clerk, Bridget Peterson, at bpeterson@nka.com or (612) 256-3259 to sign up.
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How Do I Learn More?
To learn more about this case, feel free to contact the case clerk, contact the case clerk, Bridget Peterson, at bpeterson@nka.com or (612) 256-3259.
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