Jesse C. Ferrantella

Jesse has served as defense counsel in significant California and national employment matters, including nationwide class and collective actions. Recent results include:

Class and PAGA Actions

• Successfully defeated conditional certification for mortgage industry client in nationwide Fair Labor Standards Act action for unpaid overtime compensation. The court found plaintiffs could not make “even a modest factual showing” that that a collective action would facilitate efficient resolution of claims.
• Obtained favorable summary judgment ruling in class action brought under the California Labor Code against an international staffing agency. The ruling resulted in the dismissal of claims for over 50,000 putative class members.
• Obtained complete dismissal of class and PAGA action at the pleadings stage for public institution of higher learning based on novel arguments of constitutional immunity from wage-and-hour violations and from civil penalties under PAGA. The ruling was affirmed in a published Court of Appeal opinion.
• Successfully defeated class certification in a nationwide class action brought against a defense contractor under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
• Obtained complete dismissal of PAGA claims at the pleading stage, without leave to amend, based on novel argument plaintiff never became an employee, as required under PAGA statute.
• Obtained favorable summary judgment ruling preempting the application of California’s meal and rest period laws as applied to transportation industry client.
• Successfully limited the scope of California’s “ABC Test” in independent contractor misclassification action brought against national trucking client. The ruling was one of the first to hold that the “ABC Test” does not apply to numerous claims under the California Labor Code. The ruling was confirmed on a motion for reconsideration.
• Obtained two favorable summary judgment rulings for security services client in PAGA actions. The ruling clarified the standard and timeline for temporary staffing worker payments, and resulted in seven-figure savings to the client. The initial ruling was affirmed by the California Court of Appeal.
• Obtained order denying class certification for repair industry client in wage and hour class action alleging unpaid wages and unlawful pay plan.
• Part of arbitration team that obtained complete defense verdict in favor of higher education client in response to various claims for breach of contract and unfair treatment asserted by former student.

Significant Appeals

• Vacated eight-figure arbitration and fee award on appeal in a published ruling before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for a national mortgage client. The case was inherited from prior counsel after a liability award in arbitration. In its opinion, the Seventh Circuit held that the court, not the arbitrator, resolves gateway question of class arbitrability.
• Obtained successful reversal of remand order before the Ninth Circuit. The ruling clarified the standard for the amount in controversy for removals under the Class Action Fairness Act.
• Obtained significant opinion on standing to pursue claims under the California Private Attorneys General Act before the California Court of Appeal.
• Jesse has also been the primary brief writer for multiple appeals before the California Supreme Court, on behalf of both parties and in amici curiae briefs filed with the Court.

Education

• J.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2011
• B.A., magna cum laude, Duke University, 2008

Admission to Practice

• California
• U.S. District Court, Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of California
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh and Ninth Circuits
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin

• San Diego County Bar Association (Labor & Employment Section)
• American Bar Association (Labor & Employment Division)

• Workplace Strategies Seminar – “Surfing Safari: A Wave of Issues and Updates From the Golden State” – San Diego – May 10, 2023
• Workplace Strategies Seminar – “Remote Work Is Here to Stay: How to Manage the Hybrid Workplace” – Phoenix – May 6, 2022
• Ogletree Deakins Seminar – “Landmark 2018 Cases: Key Implications and Practical Tips” – San Diego – October 2018
• American Bar Association Webinar – “Life After Epic Systems: How Employers, Employees, and Arbitrators are Adapting to the World of Class Action Waivers” – September 2018
• Ogletree Deakins Seminar – “Surf the Retaliation Wave – Without Getting Caught in the Tide” – San Diego – October 2017
• Ogletree Deakins Seminar – “Background Checks and the New Wave of Class Action Lawsuits” – San Francisco – October 14, 2015
• Ogletree Deakins Seminar – “Data Management, Records Retention, and E-Discovery – The Importance of Document Management and Records Retention in “E-Discovery” – San Francisco – October 2014

• Fall 2015 – Association of Business Trial Lawyers San Diego Report – “California Court of Appeal Certifies Class Based on Alleged System-Wide Failure to Pay Meal Period Premiums”

• February 4, 2022 – The Musings – “Outside Sales, WFH & World’s Best Mortgage Law Blog?”

• Recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^® for Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Best Lawyers Ones to Watch – Labor and Employment Law – Management (2021)
• Berkeley Law (Boalt Hall), Order of the Coif