The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to most employers and public buildings. State agencies can claim sovereign immunity and avoid an ADA lawsuit entirely. But, states waive that sovereign immunity if the agency accepts federal funding. In the past ten years or so, there have been a surge of ADA lawsuits seeking access to public
Litigation and trial practice
Discrimination Cases are Difficult to Win
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
A potential client recently assured me she could make me "wealthy" if I would accept her case for discrimination. She was responding to my gentle declination of her case. How do I explain to a potential client that what they see on television or in the movies is not real life? Sure, Erin Brockovich did…
Big Law Firm Wins Case But Loses Request for Attorney’s Fees
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
AG Abbott Overruled Again
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
I wrote previously about Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott engaging in frivolous defenses and frivolous lawsuits. See my posts here and here. Well, now a Travis County Judge has found AG Abbott’s opinion about the VIA Transit center to also "border on the frivolous." See San Antonio Express News report. The issue concerns…
Judge Hughes Overruled Again
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
I previously wrote about Judge Lynn Hughes of the Southern District of Texas here and here. Again, he has ordered no discovery in a lawsuit that could not function without discovery. And, again, he has been overruled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. See opinion here. The Fifth Circuit seems to be…
Wendy Davis Awarded $260,000 in Attorney Fees
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Wendy Davis has been awarded $260,000 in a re-districting lawsuit from 2011. She had requested $478,000. I previously wrote about her lawsuit, along with lawsuits by various civil rights organizations here. A few politicians and a few civil rights groups won their lawsuit alleging that the Texas legislature discriminated against minorities when they revised…
A Plaintiff Must Show Respect for the Employer
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
Discrimination lawsuits are hard to win. I have written many blog posts about that difficulty. One federal judge recently even wrote that Judges are killing Title VII. See my blog post about Judge Kopf’s blog post. Prosecuting a discrimination case is an uphill climb. So, it is important that any plaintiff do nothing to…
“Ghostwriting” Not Allowed for Plaintiff Without a Lawyer
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
One of the unique aspects of employment law is that many persons enter into the judicial system representing themselves. An old saying holds that a lawyer who would represent himself has a fool for a client. That is, someone who tries to represent himself will make many mistakes, because that person is too emotionally involved…
SAWS Appeals Court Ruling, Again
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
SAWS has decided to appeal the ruling by the Fourth Court of Appeals regarding its million dollar jury verdict. I wrote about that appellate ruling here. SAWS has hired former Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson to represent it before the Texas Supreme Court. Even before he became Chief Justice, Mr. Jefferson was one of the…
Judges are Killing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
By Thomas J. Crane on
Posted in Litigation and trial practice
A federal judge writes a nice blog on federal judges. See herculesandtheumpire.com. He discusses the studies on employment cases in the Northern District of Georgia. I wrote about that study here.
Judge Richard Kopf titles his blog post, "Judges are Killing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." The judge wrote…