Settlement Conference For Intercare Adjusters' Class Action Trailed To October 16th 2013 By Lonce LaMon - September 30, 2013
A settlement conference for the Class Action suit filed on August 7, 2012 on behalf of a class of claims adjusters against Intercare Insurance Services, which was to have taken place at the 600 South Commonwealth court house in Los Angeles near Lafayette Park September 18th 2013, has been trailed to October 16th 2013.
An attorney for Intercare, Thomas Suh, stated in an email letter response to this writer, “The parties have reached a settlement of the class action lawsuit without an admission of liability by Intercare. However, as with any class action matter, the settlement is subject to the review and final approval of the court. As such, the release of the terms of the settlement is premature.”
A claims adjuster named Edward Gaa, who is one of the lead plaintiffs for the class action, worked on Intercare’s County of Los Angeles workers’ compensation account, and was fired on April 5, 2011 by Val Kubiak, a supervisor, in the Intercare Pasadena office. Edward Gaa had also filed a workers’ compensation claim about which he states he has partially settled but is still negotiating for some future medical treatment. He stated by phone that he was terminated after he requested time off for a medical appointment and a referral to a new doctor.
Sylvia Lopez is the co-lead plaintiff with Gaa and was terminated as a workers’ compensation claims adjuster in Intercare’s Orange, California, office on November 4, 2009. Intercare’s implicitly expressed reason for terminating Lopez is because she wasn’t getting the job done. Lopez alleged discrimination against her for speaking Spanish in the office and on the premises in defiance of an “English only” imperative set by Intercare. Lopez sued and lost that discrimination suit in arbitration earlier this year.
In this August 7, 2012 filed Class Action, Edward Gaa and Sylvia Lopez lead the class in accusing Intercare of owing them overtime wages. The allegation by the plaintiffs is that this class of adjusters has been misclassified as Exempt employees when they should be Non-Exempt employees. They are alleged by the law suit to be production employees in their usual activities more than administrative employees; therefore, they should be entitled to overtime pay.
This writer asked Intercare attorney, Thomas Suh, if Intercare will be changing their classification of adjusters as a result of this pending settlement. Suh’s general reply to that and other questions was, “We are not… in a position to comment on an ongoing case."
In spite of Thomas Suh’s reticence, there are other sources—Edward Gaa is one—who express that the settlement is on the table for $300,000 to be divided up between the adjusters and the plaintiff’s law firm, The Mathews Group, based in Pasadena, California. An offer by Intercare executive Alan Avriett to each adjuster of $500 for bowing out of the class, has been rejected by the judge, according to Edward Gaa, and no adjusters will be allowed to bow out of the class but will equally remain in the class and receive equal settlement.
According to veteran workers’ compensation claims adjuster and supervisor, Jorge Alexandria, who is a regular contributing freelance writer for adjustercom, this settlement matter was trailed to October 16th 2013 to allow the litigants additional time to finesse their agreement to include a no admission of liability clause, which is typical, and a confidential non-disclosure agreement, which is not typical.
This means that the terms of the settlement will remain confidential.
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