The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a $7.7 million award to California employees of a Chinese-language newspaper who lodged a wage-and-hour class action against their employer, in light of the landmark Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes case.  The high court granted the petition for writ of certiorari lodged by the Chinese Daily News, and sent the Fair Labor Standards Act case back to the Ninth Circuit for reconsideration.  In its petition, the Chinese Daily News leaned heavily on the decision, in which the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that claims for injunctions or declaratory rulings in class actions typically don’t allow for monetary payments.  The newpaper argued that the question of whether claims for monetary relief can be certified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) was identical to a position in the Dukes suit, according to the petition.  The Ninth Circuit handed down its decision in September 2010, but the precedental Dukes decision didn’t happen until June.

Michael M. Berger of Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, an attorney for the Chinese Daily News, said he was pleased with the high court’s decision.  “We’re delighted they saw the light and sent the thing back to the Ninth Circuit,” Berger told Law360 on Monday.  Previously, the Ninth Circuit upheld the $7.7 million award to San Francisco and Los Angeles employees of the Chinese Daily News, who claimed they were required to work overtime without pay, and denied meal breaks and itemized pay stubs.  The decision was thought to have closed the six-year legal battle begun by three Chinese Daily News employees who were later joined by more than 100 others.  The Chinese Daily News, also known as the World Journal, is a Taipei, Taiwan-based Chinese-language news service, which prints editions in Los Angeles, New York and other U.S. cities with large Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant populations. (click on link to read full story)