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Kevin J. Stoops
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Preeminent plaintiff class action wage and hour attorney
Kevin Stoops is nationally recognized as one of the preeminent plaintiff class action wage and hour attorneys. He has successfully obtained millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients and along the way built a solid track record of winning outcomes in complex, high-dollar cases and class action lawsuits. He handles cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act, intellectual property and bet-the-company commercial property litigation. He most enjoys helping people who do not have the ability or means to fight for their rights against their employers and against big businesses.
When Kevin was a kid growing up, he worked in construction every summer for his dad and learned valuable lessons working 80 to 100 hours a week. One of those lessons was to not be afraid of working hard to reach your goals. Kevin opted to serve the law because he enjoys the intellectual challenge posed by an ever-shifting legal landscape.
Since becoming an attorney Kevin has learned how important the work he does is to each of his clients. According to Kevin, “It’s not often you find a profession where the outcome of your work can, and often does, have a profound impact on the life of your client and his or her family. I’m not afraid to go to the wall for my clients and to turn over every stone to fight for their rights.”
In his spare time, Kevin is an avid cyclist who has raced numerous triathlons, mountain bike races and road races.
Accomplishments
ARTICLE
- “Navigating the Title VII Expatriate Loophole,” http://www.michbar.org/file/barjournal/article/documents/pdf4article2834.pdf, Michigan Bar Journal, March 2016, (Co-Author)
VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS
- $9.95 million class action settlement for 2,574 hourly managers who alleged Lowe’s Home Centers withheld overtime pay for “off-the-clock” work.
- $3.9 million settlement for hundreds of plant workers who were illegally denied pay for the time they spent suiting up and stripping down each day.
- $3.1 million breach of contract verdict. With partner Andrew Kochanowski, obtained a breach of contract and patent infringement verdict for the Michigan inventor of an aluminum baseball bat safety testing machine. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan)
- $2.5 million settlement. With my partner, Andrew Kochanowski, assisted client in obtaining a $2.5 million settlement dispute involving joint venture contract and trademark infringement claims. (U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado).
- $2.4 million employment discrimination verdict. With partner Joe Golden, obtained Title VII and Elliot-Larsen national origin discrimination verdict for a public school teacher in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan).
- $1,100,000 settlement. Lead counsel in complex commercial litigation case involving breach of contract, fraud, and violation of the Michigan Sales Representative Commission Act and other claims by my clients against a former joint venture partner. (U.S. District Court for Western District of Michigan).
- $800,000 arbitration judgment connectedwith minority shareholder claims (Detroit, Michigan).
- $800,000 settlement. Lead counsel in litigation arbitration pending in Chicago, Illinois, involving claims of oppression, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty by a former shareholder against a multi-million dollar business involved in the medical insurance industry.
- Holbrook et al v GenTek, Inc., 2010 WL 2697126. Obtained summary judgment in favor of four clients, former executives in the automotive industry, on claim that the former employer breached their executive bonus agreement. (U.S. District Court for theEastern District of Michigan).
REPRESENTATIVE WAGE AND HOUR CASES
- Brown v. The Permanente Medical Group – Lead Counsel in $6,255,000 settlement of over 1,300 Advice Nurses (handling patient telephone calls) claiming their employer unlawfully withheld compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and hour provisions and California state law. (District Court for the Northern District of California).
- Matthews v. Convergys – Co-Lead/Class Counsel in $4,500,000 settlement in nationwide wage and hour class action involving more than 20,000 at-home call center employees alleging they were not paid for their pre-shift computer login and boot-up time and for time spent working “off-the-clock” while experiencing system downtime. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina).
- Atkinson v. Teletech – Co-Lead/Class Counsel in $3,500,000 settlement on behalf of over 20,000 home-based customer service agents (call center workers) claiming their employer unlawfully withheld compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and hour provisions. (District Court for the Southern District of Ohio).
- Wolf v. The Permanente Medical Group – Lead Counsel in $2,950,000 settlement of over 1,700 Telephone Service Representatives (handling patient telephone calls) claiming their employer unlawfully withheld compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and hour provisions and California state law. (District Court for the Northern District of California).
- Banks v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan – Lead Counsel in $1,650,000 settlement of over 1,200 Customer Service Representatives claiming their employer unlawfully withheld compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and hour provisions and California state law. (District Court for the Central District of California).
- Adams v. Sitel – Lead Counsel in $1,200,000 settlement of over 10,000 at home customer service representatives claiming their employer unlawfully withheld compensation in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and hour provisions and various state laws. (District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina).
- Matthews v. Cloud 10 – Lead/Class Counsel in $1,100,000 settlement in nationwide wage and hour class action involving more than 1,000 at-home call center employees alleging they were not paid for their pre-shift computer login and boot-up time and for time spent working “off-the-clock” while experiencing system downtime. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina).
- Tarrant v. Sutherland – Lead/Class Counsel in $1,075,000 settlement in nationwide wage and hour class action involving more than 7,000 at-home call center employees alleging they were not paid for their pre-shift computer login and boot-up time and for time spent working “off-the-clock” while experiencing system downtime. (U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York).
Memberships
- State Bar of Michigan
- Member, Michigan Attorney Discipline Board Hearing Panel
- California Lawyers Association
- American Bar Association
- Oakland County Bar Association
- Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association
- Board of Directors (2013 to 2015)
- Barristers Board of Directors (2009-2013)
- National Employment Lawyers Association
- American Association for Justice
- Case Evaluator, Oakland County Circuit Court
Testimonials
I contacted Sommers Schwartz to join a class action suit. Kevin Stoops and his assistant Veronica Stewart took my case and walked me through all the documents that I had to sign, explained everything to me, and won my case! They are an awesome team and I would recommend them and their firm to anyone requiring legal advice. Thank you, Kevin and Veronica!
I just wanted to say congratulations – I know you guys have worked very hard on my lawsuit. You have really been fun to work with and are so down to earth. While there are attorneys who make the client feel like a cardboard box and afraid to say anything, it is easy to talk to you!
I want to thank the both of you for the hard work you put in to our case. For me it was the first time I had ever been involved in litigation against anybody, was not sure what to expect and was worried about the out come. Throughout the process you both demonstrated understanding for the emotional roller coaster your clients were going through, keeping us on track until the conclusion of the case. Your advice and guidance were spot on… once again, thank you.
Going through this process was a totally new experience for me, but the way you and your firm conducted it was certainly reassuring. Please extend my gratitude to all the people involved.
My wife and I really appreciate all your help. You did a wonderful job with our lawsuit and you actually genuinely tried to help us again. WOW! – you truly have left a great impression on us.
Thank for all you did in my case, Kevin. You did a great job.
Thank you very much for your time and effort on our case. We feel you went above and beyond expectations. Our business is very complex with the different manufacturers we deal with and the rebate programs associated with them, and we feel the time, effort and your timeliness in understanding the different aspects of our case helped us with a reasonable resolution. We hope we will not have to have assistance in litigation again, but if we do, we will certainly want you to be the counsel helping us and we would certainly be happy to refer you to anyone that may need legal counsel.
Recent Posts
- Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Juris Doctor (JD), magna cum laude, 2004
- Moot Court Team
- Law Review
- Michigan State University, Bachelor of Science (BSc), 2000
- Michigan
- California
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Pro hac vice admission:
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court, District of Hawaii
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
- U.S. District Court, District of Nevada
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Western District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia
- Class Action & Mass Tort
- Employment Law
- Unpaid Wages & Overtime
I am not afraid to go to the wall for my clients
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