O’Melveny Litigators Secure Reversal of US$60 Million Judgment and Decertification of ‘Exempt’ Class of Title Escrow Workers
June 3, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES—June 3, 2026—A California appeals court panel on May 29 reversed a nearly US$60 million plaintiffs’ judgment in a closely watched wage-and-hour class action. According to the stunning 138-page opinion authored by Fifth District Court of Appeal Justice Rosendo Pena, the 19-year Cortina odyssey is even more “rare and beastly” than the 2015 California Supreme Court case at the center of the opinion. A team of O’Melveny litigators brought in to handle the appeal with co-counsel—Scott Reddie, chair of the Appellate Litigation Group of McCormick Barstow—secured the win.
“This is a complete victory for our client on substance and process. The court exhaustively analyzed the law on class certification in this context and impressively dug into a 22,000-page record to truly understand the facts,” said O’Melveny Appellate partner Anton Metlitsky, who argued the appeal on behalf of North American Title Company, a subsidiary of homebuilder Lennar Corp.
O’Melveny Labor & Employment partner Adam Karr, the case’s chief strategist, added: “There are only a handful of appellate decisions in wage-and-hour cases decertifying a class after a full trial. Because of the unusual posture of the case and the breadth and depth of the court’s analysis, we anticipate Cortina will become one of the guiding legal opinions in this area of law in California.”
The matter has been in litigation since 2007. After a 41-day bench trial in 2016, a Fresno Superior Court judge determined that more than 260 people who worked in escrow services all had been wrongly classified as exempt from overtime pay. Then, over North American’s objection, the trial court appointed a referee to take evidence on the amount of overtime hours worked. The referee spent four years hearing testimony from more than 200 witnesses, charging North American the entire amount of the process. The referee found over US$21 million in restitution that became an almost US$60 million judgment due to interest and attorneys’ fees. The appellate panel said the judge’s class-wide liability determination was erroneous and its subsequent decision to delegate critical responsibilities to a referee over objection was “unprecedented in our state jurisprudence.”
If the opinion stands, the case will be remanded to the lower court for further proceedings. “Unfortunately, the end is nowhere in sight,” the appellate opinion wryly noted. O’Melveny partner David Marroso, co-chair of O’Melveny’s General Litigation Practice, said: “Our client had the fortitude to defend this case for almost two decades, and they have the resolve to see it through to the end—no matter how long it takes.”
In addition to Metlitsky, Karr, and Marroso, the O’Melveny team included counsel Jenya Godina, who played a key role in crafting arguments. Co-counsel Reddie argued the cross-appeal.
The case is Cortina v. North Am. Title Co., No. F085389 (Cal. Ct. App. May 29, 2026).
About O’Melveny
It’s more than what you do: it’s how you do it. Across sectors and borders, in board rooms and courtrooms, we measure our success by yours. And in our interactions, we commit to making your O’Melveny experience as satisfying as the outcomes we help you achieve. Our greatest accomplishment is ensuring that you never have to choose between premier lawyering and exceptional service. So, tell us. What do you want to achieve? Visit us at www.omm.com; learn more in our firm at-a-glance; and find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Contact:
Brandon Jacobsen
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 213 430 8024
bjacobsen@omm.com
# # #