Stanislaus judge advances class action against dairy products company

A class-action lawsuit by employees of Central Valley-based dairy manufacturer and distributor Super Store Industries is going forward.

On Wednesday, Stanislaus Superior Court Judge John D. Freeland granted class-action certification to 544 of the Stockton-based company’s past and present employees in a lawsuit over several years’ worth of back wages and other penalties.

Super Store Industries has plants and warehouses in Turlock, Lathrop and Fairfield that manufacture and distribute dairy products to retailers in California and parts of Nevada. The company was founded by and is a joint partnership between the Save Mart and Raley’s grocery chains. Some of its products include the Sunnyside Farms and Bayview Farms brands, which are carried by area supermarkets.

The class action was filed in Stanislaus Superior Court in April 2012 by three former employees, one of whom has since dropped out of the case. The current plaintiffs, John Hance and Joseph Rubeiro, are seeking damages for overtime wages, back and unpaid wages, denied off-duty and second-meal periods, inaccurate wage statements, and more for all those in the class action.

The class-action plaintiffs are being represented by attorneys from the Southern California-based Law Offices of Scott A. Miller and Law Offices of Steven D. Waisbren. Super Store Industries is being represented by the San Francisco-based firm Littler Mendelson.

Miller, who is based in Sherman Oaks and has an office in Sacramento, said the class action is seeking damages in “the eight figures,” but an exact amount is being calculated. He said a trial date has been for for April 15, 2016.

“I am elated that the case is now certified as a class action, the plaintiffs have won on every point,” Miller said. “We feel real good about this and we intend to make this right for the employees.”

His office said the lawsuit covers past and current employees who fall within each claim’s statutory period. Damages for overtime and minimum wages are being sought back to 2008. Damages for meal periods go back to 2009, and penalties under the California Private Attorneys General Act go back to 2011.

Miller said Hance and Rubeiro were let go from the company before the lawsuit was filed. They had both worked in production for Super Store Industries for more than 20 years.

According to the Super Store Industries website, the company has a fluid milk division in Fairfield, a dry grocery and frozen food division in Lathrop, and a dairy for ice cream and cultured products in Turlock. The Lathrop plant services more than 250 supermarkets, and the Turlock and Fairfield operations service more than 400 stores.

Representatives from Super Store Industries could not be reached for comment.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Stanislaus judge advances class action against dairy products company."