NOELLE SALMAS VS. LANDRY'S PAYROLL, INC., ET AL

Matter on the Law & Motion/Discovery Calendar for Thursday July 17, 2025, line 3, PLAINTIFF NOELLE SALMAS AN INDIVIDUAL, IN HER REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY ON BEHALF OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND FELLOW AGGRIEVED EMPLOYEES' Motion To Dismiss Entire Action

Plaintiff moves to dismiss this action with prejudice as to her individual claims and without prejudice as to her representative PAGA claims. The motion is denied without prejudice for the reasons stated herein.

Plaintiff brought this case as a PAGA action alleging violations of Labor Code sections 2698 et seq. She has reached a settlement of her individual claims with the defendants; her counsel's declaration states that "[t]he parties settled the case on an individual basis and did not allocate any of the settlement amount to settle the potential claims of other similarly situated employees." (Razma Dec. para. 7.)

Labor Code 2699, subdivision (s)(2), provides that "The superior court shall review and approve any settlement of any civil action filed pursuant to this part. The proposed settlement shall be submitted to the agency at the same time that it is submitted to the court." This case is a civil action filed pursuant to PAGA and therefore any settlement of it must be approved by the court and submitted to LWDA. The latter has not occurred.

As to the former, the court understands that there is no release of representative PAGA claims and the dismissal as to those claims is without prejudice but the plain language of the statute still applies. Plaintiff must seek judicial approval of this settlement and must provide sufficient analysis of the settlement for the court to make a reasoned determination whether to approve it. This will include providing the court with the settlement agreement and must include analysis of the value of the representative claims and why it is appropriate to dismiss their claims without adjudication.

For the 9:00 a.m. calendar, all attorneys and parties may appear in Department 301 remotely or in person. Remote hearings will be conducted by videoconference using Zoom. (Dept. 301 Zoom ID 161 502 4290; Passcode 700956.) To appear remotely at the hearing, go to the court's website at sfsuperiorcourt.org under "Online Services," navigate to "Tentative Rulings," and click on the appropriate link, or dial the corresponding phone number.

Any party who contests a tentative ruling must send an email to contestdept301tr@sftc.org with a copy to all other parties by 4pm stating, without argument, the portion(s) of the tentative ruling that the party contests. The subject line of the email shall include the line number, case name and case number. The text of the email shall include the name and contact information, including email address, of the attorney or party who will appear at the hearing.