The Supreme Court must take some delight in reversing the Fifth Circuit. In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has once again reversed the Fifth Circuit. In Johnson v. City of Shelby, No. 13-1318 (5th Cir. 11/10/2014), the Supreme Court found that the Fifth Circuit applied the recent decisions
We are seeing more and more lawsuits against an employee after s/he leaves an employer. Some of these suits have basis, some do not. In Schlumberger v. Rutherford, we see a lawsuit that lacked basis. Charlotte Rutherford was employed by Schlumberger as an in-house lawyer. She was privy to confidential, proprietary
As a country, most of us subscribe to certain precepts. These certain precepts keep things running in our country. One of those precepts is that the U.S. Supreme Court is the final arbiter of constitutional issues. Over the last couple of centuries, most of us have come to accept that Supreme Court’s role in deciding
There is a seamy side to lawsuits. I am sure this seamy side has been around ever since the Medieval days when representatives were hired because they were better criers. In the San Antonio Express News is a report about immigration lawyers who hire case runners, folks who go out and find clients. They lurk
Yes, in federal court, either party can be sanctioned for its conduct during a lawsuit. Sanctionable conduct must be pretty egregious. National law firm, Littler Mendelson requested sanctions against a plaintiff who lost a summary judgment motion. Elaine Barley had sued Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Ms. Barley alleged that Fox did not accommodate
I wrote before about Judge Edith Jones, who has been accused of making racist comments at a Federalist Society meeting. See my prior post here. She allegedly stated that certain racial groups, such as African-Americans and Hispanics, are "predisposed" toward crime. Most judges might get away with making those sorts of statements, if they
Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys, does stay busy. He was accused just a couple of weeks ago of assaulting an exotic dancer, Jana Weckerly. The lawyer for Jerry Jones said she missed the statute of limitations – the deadline by which all suits must be filed. She alleged that the Cowboys owner assaulted her
Courtesy of creationc
Employment cases are exceedingly difficult, with numerous deadlines and traps for the unwary. We see some of these traps in the case of Prewitt v. Continental Automotive, No. 12-CV-582 (W.D. Tex. 8/28/2014). In this case, Larry Prewitt alleged that he had been terminated due to several reasons: race discrimination
I try to warn clients all the time that juries are fickle. A party can have the best evidence and still lose. One recent case illustrates that reality. In Alexander v. Servisair, LLC, No. H-12-817 (S.D. Tex. 2013), the plaintiff alleged that she had been terminated for pursuing her rights to sick leave under
Every lawyer is like a small business. We can decide when and what to say to judges, clients and opposing lawyers . . . until someone reports our conduct. A New Jersey lawyer learned that lesson the hard way recently. Jared Stolz was disciplined by the New Jersey Supreme Court after he sent emails to