The underlying dispute involved Galena Goins, Sonia Lopez, and Terry Jones-Jackson, all employees at UPS's Oakland Hub, where workers unload, sort, and load packages. They sued UPS in November 2021 asserting gender and age discrimination claims under Title VII, FEHA, and equal-pay statutes. The case was whittled down through successive motions to dismiss — which struck class allegations and eliminated unexhausted claims — before UPS prevailed on summary judgment. The Ninth Circuit affirmed on all grounds on January 12, 2026.
Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton held that plaintiffs' pursuit of their Title VII and FEHA claims became frivolous at some point during litigation. The court found that plaintiffs repeatedly re-raised claims it had already deemed unexhausted, failed to cite evidence for many elements at summary judgment, included citations to nonexistent materials, and abandoned numerous arguments entirely. Those frivolous arguments were re-raised even after judgment was entered.
The court declined to award fees on the EPA and CEPA equal-pay claims, concluding that the evidentiary failures did not rise to the bad-faith standard those statutes require. It also refused fees tied to the dismissal of the class and collective action claims, reasoning that because those claims were struck without prejudice, UPS did not achieve the required alteration in the legal relationship of the parties to qualify as a prevailing party on that portion of the case.
For the remaining Title VII and FEHA claims, the court calculated that UPS's fees after the close of discovery on March 29, 2024 totaled $140,151.00. It then reduced that figure by one-sixth to account for Jones-Jackson's EPA/CEPA claims, which were not separately itemized in counsel's time entries, arriving at $116,792.50 as the amount at issue.
The court then turned to the plaintiffs' financial condition. Plaintiffs submitted nothing on the subject despite the court's explicit February 4, 2026 reminder that it would need that information. Drawing on the second amended complaint, the court noted that Goins reported an hourly rate of $28.62 and Lopez reported $30.44, and that Jones-Jackson held the same job title and location as Lopez. Assuming a 40-hour week and 50 weeks per year, the court estimated pre-tax annual income of approximately $60,000 for each plaintiff. The court observed that it was also unknown how much of the litigation misjudgments were the responsibility of the individual plaintiffs rather than their lawyers, and concluded it would be unjust to assess an unaffordable penalty on the plaintiffs for decisions made by their lawyers.
Balancing deterrence against financial reality, Judge Hamilton imposed a fee award of $3,000 against each plaintiff, granting UPS's motion in part and denying it in part.