Advocating for Employees in San Antonio, TX and Beyond
SAWS (San Antonio Water System) recently lost the apeal of their million dollar loss in Bexar County distirict court. I previously wrote about that appellate decision here.
That defense has cost SAWS $492,000 over four years. This amount includes the trial, the appeal and the EEOC charge. See San Antonio Express News report…
In 2012, a Bexar County jury awarded a former SAWS employee $1.6 million in damages in a retaliation lawsuit. Debra Nicholas had opposed possible discrimination by her employer, San Antonio Water System in 2006. Her job was eliminated in 2009. SAWS claimed her job was eliminated as part of a re-organization. But, her job was…
Lawyers are not the best negotiators, even though we are always negotiating something. When I get into settlement talks, I am often surprised at how many folks do not ever negotiate. I often use the example of yard sales and tell clients a settlement is like a yard sale, but with bigger numbers. Some clients…
In the litigation business, us lawyers should avoid hyperbole. Unlike the lawyers on television, exagerration is often counter-productive in a real court. Avoiding hyperbole is even more important when prosecuting an appeal. The lawyers for State Farm in Bennett v. State Farm Mut. Automobile Ins. Co., No. 13-3047 (6th Cir. 9/24/13) overlooked that basic…
I previously wrote here about Alma Guzman and how she settled her claims against Southside Independent School District. This is the first time to my knowledge that an employee loses a motion for summary judgment and then reaches a settlement. I wondered how that was possible, especially since it sounded like her evidence for retaliation…
Judge Hughes spoke in a discriminatory way about Jitendra Shah and his lawsuit. I previously wrote about Judge Hughes’ ex parte discussion here and here. The Judge discussed the merits of a lawsuit even though the plaintiff’s lawyer was absent. And, he made some stereotypical comments about Indians, Caucasians, state government workers and Indian…
I recently wrote about the Texas Attorney General who has filed several high-profile frivolous lawsuits. See my post here. He spent close to $4 million on his political lawsuits. If that was not enough, the Attorney General also lost big in a big lawsuit. The winning party in a civil rights lawsuit has the…
I have written about this before, but it happens so often that it requires emphasis. As lawyers and a judicial system, some of us just do not "get" summary judgment. Summary judgment is not about who wins or loses, or rather, it should not be about who wins or loses the lawsuit. After all, if…
If I said one day, " I go to work, I sue the federal government, and then I go home," I would be accused of filing frivolous lawsuits. When Greg Abbott says the same thing, that he goes to work, sues the federal government, and then goes home, he is accused of effective politics. The…
There are a number of institutional obstacles placed in the way of plaintiffs in employment lawsuits. One of those obstacles is the "self-serving" affidavit principle. Numerous cases have held that a plaintiff must have more than a "self-serving" affidavit on which to base his claim . . . as though there was such a thing…