My colleague, Chris McKinney has penned an excellent post on the costs of defending against an employment lawsuit. See his post here. As Chris says, far too much money is spent defending against lawsuits that could be settled for $40,000 or less.
Litigation and trial practice
Federal Judge Overruled and Case is Re-assigned
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Award of Attorney’s Fees Against EEOC is Reversed
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
I first wrote about this case a couple of years ago. See my prior post about EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc. It struck me as a good case, but the court parsed the evidence to make it seem like a weak case. Too, the court rejected the view that certain “lead” drivers could constitute…
Sanctions Can Result when a Party Does not Cooperate
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
In federal court, parties can be ordered to pay sanctions. Mentioning that to clients always attracts interest. If a person or entity “mis-behaves” in court, the judge can sanction them. Sanctions include anything from paying money, paying the opposition attorney’s fees to even outright dismissal. In one recent Fifth Circuit decision, a lawyer was ordered…
SAWS Seeks to Move the Goal Post
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Oral arguments in the case of Nicholas v. SAWS were heard recently. The Defendant appealed the matter to the Texas Supreme Court after losing before the Fourth Court of Appeals. See my prior post about that appeal here and here. In the oral arguments, the defense attorney, Rachel Ekery, said the harassment by the…
Plaintiffs Settle Despite Hung Jury
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice, Uncategorized
Discrimination cases are difficult. They are more difficult than many other types of cases, because there is an intrinsic bias against discrimination claimants. As Judge Kopf (of Hercules and the Umpire blog) said, many judges are simply skeptical about discrimination claims. We see some of the challenges in this article about successful discrimination and retaliation…
The Deck is Stacked Against the Plaintiff
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
In many ways, the deck is stacked against the discrimination victims. Most folks who believe they have been subjected to discrimination put off seeing a lawyer. Many, a great many folks go directly to the EEOC, trusting in the federal government. The EEOC means well, but it is over-worked and under-staffed. Many EEOC workers are…
Texas Statutes of Limitation
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Lawsuits are tricky. They must be filed within a certain deadline, known as "statutes of limitation." If a person misses the statute of limitation without a very, very good reason, that person cannot file the lawsuit. Statutes of limitations are very important. A suit based on personal injury must be filed within two years of…
Abbott Files Another Frivolous Lawsuit
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
So, Greg Abbott files another frivolous lawsuit. He has filed suit against the federal government over Pres. Obama’s immigration measures. See San Antonio Express News report (account required). And, as before, the lawsuit is described as frivolous by lawyers familiar with immigration law. One immigration lawyer describes the lawsuit as "political theater." I have written…
Oral Arguments Set for Nicholas v. SAWS
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Oral arguments are set for Nicholas v. San Antonio Water System. I previously wrote about that case here and here. CPS spent half a million dollars by November, 2013 defending the case. They could have settled the case for much less. Oral arguments are set for January, 2015 before the Texas Supreme Court. See San…