Death Knell Doctrine Does Not Apply When A PAGA Cause Of Action Remains.

It is well established under California law that an order denying a motion to certify all class claims leaving only the named plaintiff’s individual claims in the trial court is an appealable order under the death knell doctrine, because absent immediate review, the plaintiff would have no financial incentive to pursue his or her case to final judgment just to preserve the ability to appeal the denial of the plaintiff’s class certification motion. Here, the trial court denied the class certification motion, but still remaining is plaintiff’s action under the Private Attorney General Act of 2004 [PAGA; Labor Code section 2698]. On appeal, defendants argued the rationale for applying the “death knell” doctrine is inapplicable because under PAGA plaintiff is seeking damages for herself as well as current and former employees. The Court of Appeal dismissed plaintiff’s appeal “because the PAGA claims remain in the trial court and the ‘death knell’ doctrine does not apply under these circumstances.” (Munoz v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 1; June 30, 2015) 238 Cal.App.4th 291 [189 Cal.Rptr.3d 134].)