Daniel F. Gaines

Daniel F. Gaines focuses his practice on class action litigation, with a special emphasis on wage and hour claims on behalf of California employees and privacy claims on behalf of consumers nationwide.  Daniel represents individuals in single and multiple-plaintiff cases, and in the class action context, for claims relating to employment issues — unpaid overtime, minimum wage violations, expense reimbursement, overtime exemption disputes, unpaid meal and rest periods, and unlawful wage deductions — and in the privacy and consumer contexts.  In recent years, Daniel has represented plaintiffs in state and federal courts and in arbitrations throughout California.  Daniel has also successfully represented clients in hearings before the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Daniel is regarded by his colleagues and adversaries alike as a skilled problem solver who finds creative ways to resolve disputes short of trial.  His clients frequently cite his aggressive litigation stance, his willingness to take big cases against the biggest corporations, and his insistence on the highest ethical standards as reasons for selecting him as their legal counsel.

Daniel graduated in 2007 with a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He was the recipient of the Lacy Amour Scholarship, honoring academic excellence.

Prior to attending law school, Daniel graduated cum laude from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business with a B.S. in Business Administration. At Berkeley, Daniel focused his studies on finance and economics. He also taught a course on investing. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Daniel spent a semester abroad at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, one of Asia’s most highly regarded business schools.

In his free time, Daniel enjoys traveling, fine dining and discovering new wines.

Selected Representations

• Represented consumers in a class action stemming from privacy law violations pursuant to California Penal Code section 632 (unlawful recording of telephone communications without notice) against the one of the world’s largest satellite media companies.  Settled prior to class certification for $9.48 million.

• Represented consumers in a class action stemming from violation of federal credit and debit card privacy laws (the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003) against a domestic airline.  Settled prior to class certification for $1.80 million.

• Represented loan officer employees in a class, collective and representative action against nationwide mortgage lender for misclassification as outside salespersons and failure to pay overtime wages or fully reimburse expenses.  Settled for $3.5 million.

• Represented pizza delivery driver employees in a class and representative action against large international pizza restaurant franchisee for failure to fully reimburse automobile-related expenses incurred in delivering pizzas with their personal automobiles.  Obtained class certification and settled just prior to trial for $3.5 million.

• Represented multiple individual employees in a wage and hour action against a film producer for failure to pay overtime wages.  Settled shortly after filing on confidential terms.

Admissions

• California
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. District Courts for the Central, Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of California