Abarca v. Werner Enterprises, Inc.

Abarca v. Werner Enterprises Inc. is a certified class action pending in the District of Nebraska (Case No. 8:14CV319).  This action was originally filed in Alameda County Superior Court, was removed to federal court in San Francisco and then was transferred to federal court in Nebraska.  Werner is a Nebraska trucking company with headquarters in Omaha.  Plaintiffs allege that Werner has failed to pay drivers minimum wages for all hours worked under Nebraska and California state law and other wage and hour claims. DHKL along with co-counsel Swartz Swidler serve as Class Counsel for the certified classes of drivers.

On March 20, 2018, the District Court certified both the California and Nebraska classes under Rules 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3) and appointed Dardarian, Ho, Kan & Lee (along with co-counsel) as class counsel.  Notice of this certified class action was sent in 2018.  Litigation has been ongoing, and in July 2022 the Court denied Werner’s motion for summary judgment regarding “trip-based” pay given Werner has not shown that its compensation policies and practices satisfy California and Nebraska wage and hour laws.  A second class certification notice went out to class members in August 2023 for drivers who joined Werner since the 2018 notice.

On March 28, 2025, the District Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgement regarding Plaintiffs’ claim that Werner unlawfully charged its drivers a $4 transaction fee to receive wage advances.  The Court found that drivers did not agree in writing to the $4 wage advance fee, making it unlawful under California and Nebraska law.  The Court also denied Werner’s motion for decertification, reaffirming that this case should proceed to trial as a class action.  See here.  Trial is expected to begin on October 14, 2025, in Omaha, Nebraska.

On October 14, 2025, Plaintiffs and Werner informed the Court that a $18 Million settlement had been reached to resolve the case.  The Parties reached the settlement on the eve of trial.  Senior United States District Judge, Joseph F. Bataillon, congratulated the parties on reaching a class settlement after 10+ years of hard-fought litigation.  The Court has set a deadline of December 15, 2025 for Plaintiffs to move for preliminary approval of the proposed class settlement.  Additional details of the proposed class settlement will be available after that filing.

Case Documents