In an opinion certified for publication today, the First District upheld a motion to decertify a sub-class in Walsh v. Ikon Office Solutions. (2007) ___ Cal. App. 4th___; A113172.  The sub-class consisted of outside sales managers, whom the employee classified as exempt from overtime.  Defendant sought to decertify the class on the ground that the sub-class lacked commonality. 
    Relying on Sav-On, the court’s analysis looked at whether the trial court had abused its discretion by not relying on substantial evidence and either (1) used improper criteria or (2) made erroneous legal assumptions.  Walsh, Supra,  A113172 at 10.   The opinion takes Sav-On’s abuse of discretion language at its face value, and notes that the trial court used the proper criteria for evaluating commonality and that Defendant had shown that there were sufficient differences in the work performed by the individual subclass members.  Id. at 12, 17. 
    Also of note, the court did not address the appropriateness of the procedural method used to decertify the class.