California Court of Appeals Rules that Successful Appellants of Labor Commissioner Awards Can Recover Fees and Costs Under Labor Code § 98.2

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On 1/21/2025, in Villalva v. Bombardier Mass Transit Corp., the California Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's order awarding $200,000 in attorneys' fees and costs to the plaintiffs, after they prevailed at a bench trial and recovered $140,000 in back wages and penalties in their de novo appeal of the Labor Commissioner's dismissal of their wage claims following the Berman hearing process. The Court held that Labor Code § 98.2 allows successful appellants to recover attorneys' fees in a de novo trial, even though the language of Section 98.2 allows recovery of fees and costs against unsuccessful appellants:

https://www4.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/D082372.PDF

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