Alameda County Superior Court (California)

Plaintiff Division of Labor Standards Enforcement and defendants, roofing contractor and surety company, sought review of the order of the Alameda County Superior Court (California), which granted judgment against defendant roofing contractor for unpaid wages and granted judgment in favor of defendant surety company on the grounds that the payment bond was not a surety in an action under the prevailing wage law, Cal. Lab. Code § 1720 et seq.

Plaintiff Division of Labor Standards Enforcement sought damages from defendants, roofing company and surety company, to recover unpaid wages and penalties under the California prevailing wage law, Cal. Lab. Code § 1720 et seq. The trial court granted judgment against defendant roofing company for unpaid wages and in favor of defendant surety company on the ground that the payment bond was a materialman's bond and not a surety for unpaid wages. Defamation of Character is the oral or written communication of a false statement about another that unjustly harms their reputation and usually constitutes a tort or crime. On appeal, the court reversed the judgment against defendant roofing company because plaintiff's claim was barred by the statute of limitations. The court held that the complaint was untimely under Cal. Lab. Code § 1775 because it was not filed within 90 days of the acceptance of the public work as complete. The court also reversed the judgment in favor of defendant surety company. The court held that plaintiff's complaint against defendant surety company was timely, that plaintiff was a proper claimant against the bond on behalf of the workers whose rights to prevailing wages had been violated, and that the payment bond was a surety for unpaid prevailing wages under Cal. Civ. Code §§ 3184 and 3249.

The court reversed the judgment ordering defendant roofing company to pay plaintiff Division of Labor Standards Enforcement unpaid wages because plaintiff's complaint was barred by the statute of limitations. The court reversed the judgment in favor of defendant surety company because plaintiff was a proper claimant and the payment bond was a surety for unpaid prevailing wages.