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.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
- EEOC: Lawsuit filed alleging religious discrimination under Title VII against employer who fired employees who failed to meet deadline for requesting religious exemptions to employer’s flu vaccination requirement, stating that arbitrary deadline resulted in denial of reasonable accommodation of employee’s religious beliefs
- Law Court: In vacating Probate Court’s Rule 66 contempt order removing personal representative from Estate for failing to obtain a bond following demand of an interested party, and awarding attorney’s fees in pursuing the motion, the court held that the fact that contempt motion was filed by an attorney as an officer of the court (subject to Rule 11) did not obviate requirement that contempt motion be filed under oath
- US District Court ME: Magistrate Judge granted motion for summary judgment for defendant on Fourth Amendment false arrest claim because plaintiff had been convicted of the crime for which he was arrested and § 1983 claim would necessarily imply the invalidity of the conviction, but denied summary judgment on Fourth Amendment excessive force claim (plaintiff stated that he did not resist arrest, he was slammed against a cruiser, had his arm twisted up behind his back, and was then thrown forcefully to the ground while handcuffed), including claims against bystander officers who had a realistic opportunity to prevent the use of excessive force by fellow officer
- US District Court ME: Magistrate Judge granted defendant’s motion to amend answer to include counterclaim after deadline to amend expired where defendant first learned of basis for counterclaim during deposition and conducted investigation within a reasonable period of time and filed the motion soon after completing the investigation
- EEOC: Jeffrey Burstein Named New Regional Attorney for EEOC’s New York District
- ME Dept of Labor: March/April Employer Update includes statewide listing of no-cost courses for employers on complying with employment regulations
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
- US Supreme Court: The Court held that when an employer demotes an employee out of a desire to prevent the employee from engaging in political activity that the First Amendment protects, the employee is entitled to challenge that unlawful action under the First Amendment even if the employer makes a factual mistake about the employee’s behavior and the employee had not actually engaged in First Amendment protected activity
- First Circuit: In § 1983 action, the court held that accepted Rule 68 offer of judgment for $300,000 that was silent as to whether that amount was inclusive of costs allowed plaintiff to recover costs (including attorney’s fees because 42 U.S.C. § 1988 subsumes attorneys’ fees within costs) in addition to the $300,000, despite defendant’s pre-acceptance attempt to clarify with an amended offer of judgment that $300,000 included attorney’s fees and costs
- Law Court: In finding Maine Health Security Act absolute immunity provision barred defamation and tortious interference claims by physician denied hospital staff privileges against two physicians who allegedly made negative statements about him to credentials verification organization, the court held, in part, that immunity applied even if the statements were false or made with ill will, and without regard to whether they were voluntary or mandatory
- First Circuit: The court affirmed exclusion of expert occupational medicine physician’s opinion that exposure to benzene from paints and other products caused Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, finding opinion unreliable under Rule 702
- First Circuit: The court found that removal of class action was improper where defendants did not meet their burden of showing that the amount in controversy exceeded $5 million threshold under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
- DOJ: New accessible technology section of website offers links covering Enforcement, Technical Assistance and Guidance, Regulations, and Technology Initiatives, designed to help people with disabilities undersand their right to access web sites, electronic book readers, online courses, and point-of-sale devices
- MHRC: May 23rd Commission Meeting Agenda posted
Thursday, April 21, 2016
- Fourth Circuit: The court held that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex,” requires schools to provide transgender students access to restrooms congruent with their gender identity
- Law Court: Oral arguments scheduled for May 3rd include BCD-15-481 (in breach of implied warranty claim, whether trial court erred (1) by admitting expert testimony despite defendant’s failure to provide adequate notice of that testimony or opinion; and (2) the applicability of defendant’s warranty disclaimer); Ken-15-281 (in negligence claim by estate of truck driver against company for whom he was working at time of accident, whether Superior Court erred in applying the Comp bar by relying on the declarations sheet from workers’ compensation policy or concluding that driver was an employee of defendant’s); Pen-15-555 (in action against town for negligence in fighting a fire at plaintiff’s business, whether Superior Court erred in granting summary judgment based on Maine Tort Claims Act immunity)
- First Circuit: The court reversed 12(b)(6) dismissal of § 1983 Fourth Amendment supervisory liability claim against police superintendent arising out of shooting by police officer, finding complaint “plausible on its face” in light of prior Department of Justice report that police department had engaged in a pattern and practice of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment
Sunday, April 17, 2016
- Law Court: The court held that oral notice can never constitute substantial compliance with the 180-day written notice of claim requirement in the Maine Tort Claims Act, even if the contents of the oral notice otherwise meet the requirements of the Act
- Press Herald: Social worker sues Riverview Psychiatric Center, former boss
- Press Herald: Harpswell man hurt in drunken-driving crash sues driver, establishments that served her
Thursday, April 14, 2016
- US District Court ME: Magistrate granted motion to prohibit the use of two witnesses during motion practice or trial where witnesses were not identified in plaintiff’s initial disclosures or answers to interrogatories and plaintiff offered no reason why he could not discover the possibility that the witnesses had relevant knowledge concerning his claims during discovery
- US Supreme Court: Oral argument set for April 20, 2016, in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, which will decide question presented: Whether “service advisors” at car dealerships are exempt under 29 U.S.C. §213(b)(10)(A) from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime-pay requirements
- MHRC: April 11th Commission Meeting minutes reflect that Stuart Evans has been hired as a new Investigator
- EEOC: Settlement of Title VII lawsuit against Maine farm for creating and maintaining a sexually hostile work environment for female farmworkers since 2003 includes enactment of policies and procedures and a $120,000 fund to compensate victims
- Press Herald: Maine farm settles lawsuit accusing it of allowing sexual harassment of women
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Saturday, April 2, 2016
- First Circuit: The court affirmed summary judgment for employer on Americans with Disabilities Act and Age Discrimination in Employment claims, finding that defendant’s “List of Employees” with 27 names did not establish that defendant had the requisite number of employees under the ADA (15) or the ADEA (20) because it did not show whether the listed individuals had an employment relationship with defendant under traditional agency principles, and did not reflect employment during the relevant time period (“for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year”)
- Law Court: In affirming judgment for defendant following jury verdict on small claims action, the court held, in part, that the decision in a small claims action to grant a jury trial de novo is akin to a denial of a motion for summary judgment, which is not subject to appeal; rather, the issue that is subject to appeal is whether the ultimate verdict is supported by the evidence presented at trial
- HUD: Final rule published that, in part, prohibits organizations that receive Federal financial assistance under a HUD program or activity from discriminating against beneficiaries or prospective beneficiaries on the basis of religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice, in providing services or carrying out activities with such assistance
- US DOL: Rule that takes effect April 25, 2016, requires that employers and the consultants they hire file reports not only for direct persuader activities – consultants talking to workers – but also for indirect persuader activities – consultants scripting what managers and supervisors say to workers about union organizing
- Superior Court: the court granted law firm’s motion for summary judgment on claims of conversion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair trade practices, and civil conspiracy arising out of the distribution of surplus funds following the sale of plaintiff’s home after a foreclosure handled by law firm on behalf of bank
- US Supreme Court: Oral argument held in Ross v. Blake, which will decide whether there is a common law “special circumstances” exception to the Prison Litigation Reform Act that relieves an inmate of his mandatory obligation to exhaust administrative remedies when the inmate erroneously believes that he satisfied exhaustion by participating in an internal investigation
- MHRC: April 11th Agenda and Consent Agenda published
- Bangor Daily: Former Gouldsboro police chief sues town
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
- Law Court: In affirming dismissal of legal malpractice action, the court found that there was nothing that an attorney could have done differently to change the result (application of set back requirements in zoning ordinance), and that court properly denied motion to file third amended complaint made three years after initial complaint on the grounds of undue delay and the potentially prejudicial impact on the litigation
- First Circuit: In affirming dismissal of § 1983 claim against police chief and city arising out of city patrol officer raping plaintiff, the court held that the complaint did not plausibly allege that chief had the requisite notice of the risk that the officer would assault plaintiff, and that, while in cases “in which a material part of the information needed is likely to be within the defendant’s control and some latitude may be appropriate in applying the plausibility standard,” plaintiff had not made the necessary allegations “upon information and belief”
Friday, March 25, 2016
- US District Court ME: In denying motion for summary judgment on various employment claims, the court found that inconsistent and changing reasons for termination were sufficiently pretexual to support sex discrimination claim; working part time temporarily would have been a reasonable accommodation, and employer’s statement that it did not have a light-duty position without offering other positions was sufficient to show employer failed to engage in a good faith interactive process; plaintiff’s reporting activity was protected by the Maine Whistleblowers’ Protection Act (post Harrison v. Granite Bay Care, Inc.) because she went beyond her job duties and was motivated by her desire to report a dangerous condition; forcing plaintiff to attend obligatory anger management counseling was an adverse employment action; and employer’s failure to provide personnel file within 10 days warranted finding violation of 26 M.R.S.A. § 631 although file was provided during discovery
- EEOC: New online charge status system provides individuals who have filed a charge of discrimination the ability to check the status of their charge online
- Law Court: Oral arguments for April 5th – 7th include BCD-15-404 (asbestos wrongful death); Pen-15-305 (legal malpractice for failure to warn that loan would not be protected in bankruptcy); Cum-15-365 (defamation, false light, invasion of privacy, and Maine’s Anti-SLAPP statute)
- Press Herald: William Brodrick, longtime Maine Superior Court judge, remembered as “a quiet mentor”
- Sun Journal: Civil lawsuit against Androscoggin County Commission to proceed
- Kennebec Journal: Widower of Monmouth crash victim sues 2 drivers
