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US firm in hot water over 'secret settlement'
A Californian law firm allegedly accepted a $6 million 'secret settlement' in a labour-related class action against a bank, and then agreed to dismiss its claims without telling 600 clients.
Law firm accused of keeping clients in the dark
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The Court House News web site reports that Mark Yablonovich's firm allegedly signed the ‘secret’ deal with Wells Fargo on behalf of former employees without telling them, and then tried to claim almost the entire sum of $6m as legal fees.
Overtime wages
Lead plaintiff Kendra Cutting is now suing Mr Yablonovich’s firm on behalf of the 600 people who had claimed Wells Fargo had failed to pay overtime wages.
According to the report, the lawyers allegedly hid the existence of the class settlement for 11 months during which it tried to get Wells Fargo to sign a secret agreement converting the entire settlement into legal fees.
Because the settlement absolved the bank of the overtime claims, Mr Yablonovich's firm made it impossible for any of the 600 class members to seek any legal recourse, the suit states.
