Gibbs Law Group LLP Files Class Action on Behalf of Workers Fired by Coco’s Bakery and Carrows Restaurants

April 10, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — On April 8, 2014, the law firm of Gibbs Law Group LLP filed a federal class action lawsuit against Catalina Restaurant Group, Inc. and Food Management Partners, Inc. on behalf of restaurant workers terminated from employment at Coco’s Bakery and Carrows locations within 30 days of April 3, 2015. The lawsuit alleges that Food Management Partners acquired Catalina on March 31, 2015, and closed approximately 75 Coco’s and Carrows restaurants the next day.

The complaint alleges that these closures violated federal and state employment laws protecting workers’ right to have advance notice of certain mass layoffs. Many employees showed up ready for work only to find a sign on the door announcing that their restaurant had closed. Federal and state laws require companies who perform certain work site closures or mass layoffs to give employees up to sixty days advance written notice. The complaint seeks compensation for the employees who suffered sudden job losses as a result of Coco’s and Carrows closures.

“The WARN Act was enacted to protect employees, families, and communities in the event of a mass layoff,” said Eric Gibbs, a founding partner at Gibbs Law Group. “If a company does not give the required notice, the employer may be liable to each employee for up to sixty days’ back pay and benefits.”

The lawsuit is entitled Ross v. Food Management Partners, Inc., No. 2:15-cv-2626, and is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Gibbs Law Group is a national litigation firm with an employment group that has represented millions of individuals in class action lawsuits and delivered significant recoveries and benefits for them. The firm successfully represented hundreds of employees who were terminated without receiving advance notice required by the WARN Act in Cabreros and Refuerzo, et al. v. Spansion, LLC and Spansion, Inc., No. 09-50409-KJC, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware; and Sandra Justice, et al. v. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., et al., Adversary Case No. 6:09-ap-01114-MJ (Bankruptcy Court, C.D. Cal.).​

Gibbs Law Group also represents employees seeking payment for hours worked off the clock and unpaid overtime in Smith v. Family Video Movie Club, Inc., No. 11-cv-1773, where Judge John Lee of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois largely denied Defendants’ challenges, allowing the case to proceed.

Gibbs Law Group LLP encourages former Coco’s Bakery or Carrows employees who were terminated without notice to contact the firm’s employment attorneys at (866) 981-4800 to learn more about the lawsuit.