In the court case Martin Pike et al. v. True Bullion, LLC, et al., filed in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District (case ID: B324634) on May 1, 2024, plaintiffs Martin Pike and Ethan Michael are suing defendants True Bullion LLC and associated parties for employment-related issues. The case revolves around alleged misclassification of employees as independent contractors, withholding wages and promised sales commissions, failure to provide accurate wage statements, and failure to give rest periods.
The defendants include True Bullion LLC doing business as Gold Silver International Exchange (GSIE), Subculture Services LLC (Subculture), Anthony Allen Anderson, and Agnes Viacrucis. Representing the defendants is Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith with lawyers Corinne C. Bertsche, Lann G. McIntyre, and Steven Gatley. The plaintiffs are represented by Vardapour Law Group and Patrick Vardapour.
The conflict began when GSIE hired Michael in December 2018 and Pike in May 2019 as precious metals specialists. During their employment in 2019, GSIE entered into a staffing agreement with Express Services Inc., through which plaintiffs became employed by Express Services to perform work for GSIE. However, in March 2021, their employment was terminated.
Pike and Michael are seeking judgment for misclassification as independent contractors rather than employees and for withheld wages among other claims. They contend that two of the arbitration agreements are unconscionable and that a third was not properly authenticated.
Justices Edmon, Egerton and Adams all concur that the trial court orders did not err and that the judgment for the plaintiffs is accurate and affirmed.