While the state Supreme Court’s recent decision in Braun v. Wal-Mart might mean a payout of more than $150 million for the class of employees claiming the retail giant shorted them on work breaks, according to some attorneys who spoke with the Law Weekly, the decision definitely means a division is brewing between state and federal courts regarding class actions.

On Dec. 17, 2014, the justices decided, in a 4-1 vote, not to overturn an approximately $154 million class action damages award against Wal-Mart. The majority held that, despite the size of the 188,000-member class, the method used to extrapolate liability and damages to each member did not constitute an improper “trial by formula,” a practice the U.S. Supreme Court disapproved of in its 2011 decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes.

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