Schneider, P. Micheal

Having completed her undergraduate degree at UCLA, Catherine Burke Schmidt received her legal training at the University of San Diego School of Law graduating in 2000.  Ms. Schmidt’s practice has concentrated on highly complex sophisticated class action litigation.  In addition, she has enormous experience in the areas of mass actions, employment law, wage and hour, consumer fraud protection, and personal injury.  Her experience in each of these areas has allowed her to develop an outstanding reputation within these fields and in particular she has demonstrated enormous success in highly sophisticated litigation both in federal and state courts.

Ms. Schmidt is admitted to practice before the California state courts, in addition to the United States District Court Central District of California, United States District Court  Eastern District of California, United States District Court Northern District of California, and the Ninth Circuit.  She is a member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the California Lawyers for the Arts, and the Santa Monica Bar Association.

Some of Ms. Schmidt’s experience includes:

• $40 million recovered in class action on behalf of mid-size businesses based on allegations of fraud and violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, Cal. Bus.  & Prof. Code § 17200. 

• $5 million class action settlement based on alleged violations of the California Unfair Competition Law on behalf of consumers who were enrolled in AOL service plans or accounts through Best Buy and charged a monthly fee.

• $3.5 million class action settlement on behalf of case managers classified as exempt who alleged they were misclassified and entitled to overtime wages, meal and rest breaks, and waiting time penalties.

• Settlement in class action on behalf of customer service representatives who alleged they were not paid their wages, including overtime wages and waiting time penalties, and were not provided lawful rest breaks and meal periods (confidential settlement).

• Settlement in class action on behalf of tire technicians and mechanics who alleged they were not paid their wages, including overtime wages and waiting time penalties, and were not provided lawful rest breaks and meal periods (confidential settlement).

• Settlement on behalf of employee of the City of Orange who claimed that the City did not have cause to terminate her employment. The settlement was reached after successfully pursuing a writ of administrative mandamus (confidential settlement).

• Settlement on behalf of tenants who claimed their apartments were uninhabitable (confidential settlement).

• Settlement on behalf of tenant who claimed personal injury as a result of exposure to mold (confidential settlement).