Tuesday, July 8, 2014
- First Circuit: In affirming summary judgment for Maine State Prison officials on Eighth Amendment cruel and unusual punishment claims arising out of inmate assaults with padlocks, the court held that one or two padlock assaults annually, with six in one year, did not alone create a substantial risk of serious harm sufficient to impose constitutional liability on defendants, despite the fact that the Prison has no practice or policy of taking away a padlock for any reason, even after the inmate has used it to assault another prisoner
- US District Court ME: In denying motion for summary judgment in age and disability employment discrimination claim, the court held that plaintiff’s affidavit would be considered because it did not simply dispute his previous deposition testimony but, rather, amplified without contradicting it and clarified ambiguous testimony; plaintiff’s claims survived even though defendant decided not to hire anyone into some of the positions for which he was rejected because defendant had a “continuing need” or continued to seek applicants after rejecting the plaintiff; and plaintiff’s receipt of Social Security Disability Income benefits did not establish that he was unable to perform the jobs for which he applied where he explained that a reasonable accommodation would have permitted him to perform them
- US District Court ME: In recommending dismissal of False Claims Act qui tam claim brought against pharmacies that allegedly resold unopened returned drugs to others without refunding the government for, e.g., Medicare and MaineCare payments, Magistrate Judge held that defendants were under no obligation to reimburse the government for payments that the government made for drugs that were returned and resold and that, although submitting returned drugs for payment through Medicaid may generate a direct False Claim, complaint did not allege fraud with sufficient particularity
- MHRC: July 14th Commission Meeting Agenda and Consent Agenda published
- Press Herald: Lawsuit alleges more than 250 labor violations during Maine blueberry harvest
