Evangeline’s practice focuses on class action and other large-case litigation involving subjects as diverse as the Fair Labor Standards Act, False Claims Act, and securities fraud.

She is a seasoned trial attorney whose trial experience includes six wage and hour collective and class actions and two major Secretary of Labor enforcement actions. Two of those class actions resulted in complete defense verdicts, while two others resulted in judgment for the defendant after successful appeal. She is highly experienced in all aspects of case management, including discovery, briefing, witness preparation, working with and deposing expert witnesses, mediation and settlement, trial, and appeal. 

Relevant Experience

  • Currently representing a battery manufacturer against one of the Department of Labor’s top enforcement actions for alleged wage-hour violations at 24 factories. In May 2023, jury returned a verdict that rejected all of the government’s claims on behalf of non-uniformed employees, rejected the government’s claim that the employer willfully violated the law, and rejected 80% of the government’s claimed damages. The district court called the trial probably the largest ever under the FLSA, and it was the longest case in the judge’s 20 years on the bench. In post-trial rulings, the Court limited injunctive relief to the new pay practices developed in consultation with counsel, and denied the Secretary’s motion for liquidated damages of $22.25 million (constituting the largest dollar value loss in history for a DOL claim for liquidated damages).
  • Represented major meat processor in Fair Labor Standards Act collective and class actions in multiple jurisdictions through life-cycle of litigation, including one bench and five jury trials.
  • Successfully Defended Fair Labor Standards Act enforcement action brought by Department of Labor in six-week trial in the Northern District of Alabama.
  • Obtaining declaratory judgment after two-week trial for medical device manufacturer challenging Proposition 65 listing in California state court; judgment affirmed by the California Supreme Court.
  • Defeated class certification of plaintiff fire protection personnel bringing misclassification action under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
  • Successfully struck plaintiff’s sole expert witness on eve of trial in commercial litigation in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Memberships

  • Advisory Board, Salvation Army National Capital Area Command, 2015 – present (Chair-Elect, 2017)

  • Board of Directors, Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia, 2003-2004; 2006

Insights