Legal Updates
John Gause monitors what’s happening in employment discrimination, civil rights, and tort law. He shares some of what he finds on this page.
Friday, August 11, 2017
- Seventh Circuit: The court clarified that the “common actor” inference is not a conclusive presumption and should be considered by the ultimate trier of fact rather than on summary judgment or the pleadings
- Ninth Circuit: The court joined the Tenth and Eleventh Circuits in allowing tester standing under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
- First Circuit: Reversing lower court decision in favor of abortion protestor on free speech challenge to Maine Civil Rights Act, the court found that the law is a content-neutral measure that serves a significant state interest without burdening substantially more speech than necessary and while leaving open ample alternative avenues for communication
- EEOC: Quarterly Digest of Equal Employment Opportunity Law published
- MHRC: Revised August 14, 2017 Commission Meeting Agenda published
- United States Courts: Article on courtroom language interpreting lists the top ten languages requiring interpreters in FY 2016, with Spanish being requested in 254,736 court proceedings (96% of all requests) and Mandarin second (1640 requests)
Saturday, August 5, 2017
- US District Court ME: In granting motion to quash defendant’s subpoena directed to plaintiff’s current employer, Magistrate Judge adopted rule that defendant first had to use other means to obtain the personnel file before resorting to a subpoena
- US District Court ME: In disability employment discrimination claim, Magistrate Judge recommended summary judgment for defendant company that provided medical services for Maine Department of Corrections (“MDOC”) facility, finding that, even if the MDOC harbored a discriminatory reason for revoking plaintiff’s security clearance, defendant company was not liable because a fact finder could not reasonably conclude that it colluded with the MDOC to discriminate against plaintiff
- US District Court ME: In denying motion for summary judgment on pretrial detainee’s Due Process excessive force claim against guard arising out of assault by another inmate, Magistrate Judge found that evidence supported inference that defendant was aware of and permitted, if not facilitated, the assaulting inmate’s conduct
Friday, July 28, 2017
- First Circuit: The court held that the Civil Service Reform Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “form a comprehensive remedial network fully capable of protecting federal employees against acts of discrimination in the workplace,” and that constitutional claims under Bivens are therefore unavailable even if other or different relief might be available if constitutional tort suits were permitted
- Second Circuit: The court held that the duty of fair representation under the National Labor Relations Act does not necessarily preempt a state nondiscrimination law for claims of discrimination filed by a union member against a labor organization when the labor organization is acting in its capacity as a collective bargaining representative (as distinguished from when it is acting in its capacity as an employer)
- US District Court ME: The court found a jury issue on whether employer’s initiation of disciplinary proceedings under a collective bargaining agreement—where the ultimate outcome is no discipline–was an “adverse action” under the Federal Railroad Safety Act’s prohibition of discrimination against whistleblowers
- Law Court: The court affirmed judgment for insurer on reach and apply action, finding that a dog bite that occurred in or near a car was not an “auto accident” under the terms of insurance policy
- Maine Superior Court: $205,300 in compensatory damages and $185,000 in punitive damages awarded on judgment for assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Bangor Daily: Former Lincoln County employee settles sexual harassment lawsuit
Friday, July 21, 2017
- Second Circuit: The court held that a plaintiff alleging retaliation for exercising her Family and Medical Leave Act rights need only prove that her FMLA-protected activity was a “negative factor” in employment actions, not the “but for” cause
- Maine Department of Labor: Public hearing will be held August 8, 2017, on proposed revisions to four chapters of rules governing the state’s unemployment insurance program
- Law Court: Citing a statutory defense that the Maine Human Rights Act “does not prohibit an employer from discharging or refusing to hire an individual with physical or mental disability . . . if the individual, because of the physical or mental disability, . . . is unable to be at, remain at or go to or from the place where the duties of employment are to be performed,” the court held that plaintiff’s additional leave of absence was an unreasonable accommodation
- Law Court: Affirming the Workers’ Compensation Board Appellate Division decision, the court held that res judicata bars relitigation of the permanent impairment level established for an employee’s work-related injury
- US District Court ME: In defamation claim, motion to exclude allegedly defamatory statements made in pleadings and bar grievance denied because the court could not determine based on the submissions whether defendants abused conditional privilege by making the statements outside the normal channels or with malicious intent
- US District Court ME: Summary judgment on 8th Amendment claim arising out of inmate-on-inmate assault denied, where plaintiff’s bite wound on two fingers met Prison Litigation Reform Act requirement of showing “physical injury”
- US District Court ME: Motion to dismiss denied on claim alleging processing of home loan constituted violations of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and fraud and misrepresentation in violation of Maine’s Consumer Credit Code
- US District Court ME: Motion in limine based on “claim splitting” granted to prevent defendant from asserting counterclaims at trial that were or could have been asserted in prior litigation
- EEOC: Lawsuit alleges Tim Horton’s violated Title VII by refusing to allow employee to wear skirt instead of traditional uniform pants, where request was to accommodate employee’s Pentecostal Apostolic faith
- MHRC: Revised August 14th Agenda published
Friday, July 14, 2017
- US District Court ME: Although Magistrate Judge found that plaintiff in employment discrimination case failed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38(b) to timely request a jury trial within 14 days of defendant’s answer following removal from the Maine Superior Court, he found that the short delay and other factors considered under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 39(b) warranted allowing the late request
- US District Court ME: The court granted summary judgment for defendants on complaint alleging retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment, finding that adverse actions resulted from professor voluntarily accepting a transfer to avoid sexual harasser, not retaliation
- Law Court: The court affirmed $428,071.64 default judgment on complaint for home invasion and assault, but found that Superior Court should not have considered whether plaintiffs’ were comparatively negligent in calculating damages because defendant waived comparative negligence affirmative defense by failing to answer
- US Dept. of Labor: The U.S. Department of Labor will reinstate the issuance of opinion letters
- Press Herald: Mother of Biddeford murder victim sues, saying police ignored killer’s threats
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
- Maine Superior Court: Motion to dismiss breach of implied warranty of merchantability claim denied because plaintiff need not have purchased good from defendant to bring claim
- US District Court ME: Clerk awarded defendants $1,408.20 in costs after defense verdict on unconstitutional arrest claim, finding the relatively small award would not have a chilling effect on civil rights claims
- MHRC: Revised August 14th Agenda posted
- Maine DOL: Law Allows 14 and 15 Year Olds To Be Hired in New Occupations Immediately
Saturday, July 1, 2017
- MHRC: Posting describes how the government shutdown will affect various issues in pending cases, new complaints, and intake questionnaires
- US Supreme Court: State law is unconstitutional that generally requires the name of a mother’s male spouse to appear on a child’s birth certificate–regardless of his biological relationship to the child–but does not extend that rule to similarly situated same-sex couples
- US Supreme Court (SCOTUSBlog): Cert granted in case that will decide the following issue presented: Whether the anti-retaliation provision for “whistleblowers” in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 extends to individuals who have not reported alleged misconduct to the Securities and Exchange Commission and thus fall outside the act’s definition of “whistleblower”
- US Supreme Court (via SCOTUSBlog): Cert granted in case that will decide the following issue presented: Whether applying Colorado’s public accommodations law to compel the petitioner to create expression that violates his sincerely held religious beliefs about marriage violates the free speech or free exercise clauses of the First Amendment
- Law Court: Summary judgment granted for defendant on auto negligence claim arising out of crash after defendant waived plaintiff across traffic because, although plaintiff may have relied on defendant’s gesture to pull across traffic, he made an independent, albeit flawed, assessment of the traffic conditions before turning and did not rely on the gesture when making the turn
- Law Court: Trial court did not err in failing to reduce judgment against second defendant by amount of settlement between plaintiff and first defendant where the injury addressed in the settlement went beyond that for which the court held second defendant liable
- First Circuit: The court affirmed $140,000 Fourth Amendment excessive force verdict, finding trial court did not err in denying defendant qualified immunity
- First Circuit: Summary judgment for employer on sex discrimination claim affirmed where plaintiff failed to show legitimate, nondiscriminatory explanation for the hiring decisions at issue was pretext for unlawful discrimination
- Eighth Circuit: The court held that state law disability employment discrimination claims were not completely preempted by § 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act or § 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act
- Maine Supreme Court: List posted of courts that will be open and closed during shutdown
- Maine DOL: Shutdown procedures posted
Saturday, June 24, 2017
- Maine Supreme Judicial Court: The court is seeking comment (deadline July 5th) on a package of amendments to the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure to require parties to civil actions to serve pleadings and other papers electronically upon one another following service the summons and complaint under Rule 4
- Ninth Circuit: The court held that the provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act that prohibits retaliation by “any person” does not require that a defendant be the plaintiff’s employer, and an attorney may be held liable for retaliating against his client’s employee because the employee sued his client for violations of workplace laws
- Ninth Circuit: The court held that the twenty employee minimum in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act does not apply to political subdivisions of a state, differing with other Circuit Courts of Appeals to decide the issue (the First Circuit has not decided it)
- US District Court ME: In employment discrimination claim by former governmental employee, the court granted motion to dismiss individual liability claim under the Maine Human Rights Act and “integrated enterprise” claim against related entity, but denied motion with respect to primary employer and constitutional claims against individuals
- US District Court ME: The court granted summary judgment for employer on disability employment discrimination claim, finding, in part, that plaintiff failed to show that there were vacant positions available for a job transfer and employer was not required to create a temporary position for plaintiff as it did for workers injured on the job
- US District Court ME: The court granted uninsured motorist insurer’s motion for summary judgment, finding injured motorist was not a resident of her parents’ household–and therefore was not insured by the policy–at the time of the accident
- US Supreme Court: The Court held that district courts (as opposed to the Federal Circuit) have jurisdiction to hear “jurisdictional” dismissals by the Merit Systems Protection Board of “mixed claims” brought by federal employees under both the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and federal antidiscrimination laws
- US Supreme Court: The Court limited the reach of Bivens actions in case brought by detainees following the September 11 terrorist attacks
- Maine Legislature: LD 1259, An Act Regarding Pay Equality, passes Maine Senate and House
- Maine Legislature: LD 1239, An Act To Increase Efficiency in Enforcement of the Maine Human Rights Act, did not pass in the Senate and is dead
- Maine Human Rights Commission: Ten minute video developed by the Commission describing service animals posted on YouTube
- Maine Human Rights Commission: Minutes from the June 19, 2017, meeting include that Investigator Angela Tizon will be leaving the Commission in July 2017
- Bangor Daily: Misdiagnosis leads to paralysis, $1.9 million settlement for Maine girl
- Bangor Daily: Maine man says Bath Iron Works fired him because he coached kids while on medical leave
- Press Herald: Parents’ First Amendment suit seeks to allow disabled son to record school day
Saturday, June 17, 2017
- First Circuit: The court found it lacked jurisdiction to hear former prosecutor’s appeal from District Court’s denial of her motion to dismiss based on absolute immunity, finding the plaintiff’s claims were not clearly foreclosed by absolute immunity and “the availability of the defense of absolute immunity as to these claims must await the development of facts during discovery”
- MHRC: June 19th Agenda and Consent Agenda published
- Bangor Daily: Stun gun lawsuit settled with Bangor police for $525,000
- Press Herald: Survey suggests transgender Maine residents face discrimination
- Press Herald: Inmate files lawsuit claiming prison guard sexually assaulted her
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
- Maine Legislature: Judiciary Committee issued a divided report on LD 1239 (Maine Human Rights Commission bill), with the majority voting “ought to pass as amended” to strike the bill but retain the provisions providing funding for the two Paralegal positions and one Consumer Outreach position and the requirement that the Maine Human Rights Commission purchase a computer system
- MHRC: festive lunch scheduled for July 1st will bring together Maine’s diverse communities following the Islamic month of Ramadan
- MHRC: June 19th Commission Meeting Agenda posted
- Press Herald: Parents’ First Amendment suit seeks to allow disabled son to record school day
