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Wal-Mart had sought to get rid of a $187 million class action
judgment over the retailer's treatment of workers in
Pennsylvania. Wells Fargo & Co wanted the justices to toss a
$203 million judgment over allegations the bank had imposed
excessive overdraft fees.
The court's decisions on whether to hear the cases had been on
hold pending its action in a separate class action case
involving Tyson Foods Inc.
On March 22, the court in that case backed workers at a pork
facility in Iowa who said they were entitled to overtime pay and
damages because they were not paid for the time spent putting on
and taking off protective equipment and walking to work
stations.
Entering the court's current term, which began in October, the
justices had issued a series of rulings in recent years clamping
down on class action litigation, a goal of big business.
But that trend has not continued. The court has heard three
important class action cases this term. In January, it ruled
against advertising firm Campbell-Ewald and in March ruled
against Tyson Foods.
The justices have yet to issue a ruling in a case argued in
November in which online people-search service Spokeo Inc sought
to avoid a class action lawsuit for including incorrect
information in its database.
In declining to hear Wal-Mart's appeal, the court left intact a
2014 ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that largely
upheld a lower court judgment awarding the $187 million to the
plaintiffs.
The case affects about 187,000 Wal-Mart employees who worked in
Pennsylvania between 1998 and 2006.
"We are disappointed the Supreme Court decided not to review our
case. While we continue to believe these claims should not be
bundled together in a class action lawsuit, we respect the
court's decision," a Wal-Mart spokesman said.
The Pennsylvania court mostly upheld a 2007 lower court ruling
in favor of the employees, who said the company failed to pay
them for all hours worked and prevented them from taking full
meal and rest breaks. The appeals court threw out a $37 million
attorneys' fee award and ordered the trial court to recalculate
that portion of the judgment.
In the Wells Fargo case, the justices left in place a 2014
ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals upholding the class action judgment against the bank.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
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