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
Schlumberger is Sanctioned for Lawsuit Against Former Employee
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
Juries are Unpredictable
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
Fifth Circuit Overrules Summary Judgment, Again
The Fifth Circuit previously overturned summary judgment in Johnson v. Maestri-Murrell Property Management, LLC, (5th Cir. 2012). I wrote about that decision here. The remarkable thing about that summary judgment was the lower court ignored direct evidence of discrimination. The district court’s decision seemed to be result-oriented. See the Fifth
City of San Antonio Loses Again Regarding Terminated SAPD Officer
I talked previously about the City of San Antonio filing an appeal regarding Lt. Salvaggio. See my prior post here. The City lost before an arbitrator, in front of district court and in front of the court of appeals. Yet, they appealed again to the Texas Supreme Court. And, now they have lost, again.
Fifth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment
In a recent unpublished decision, the Fifth Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer. Monica Hague formerly worked for the University of Texas Health Science Center t San Antonio. Ms. Hague worked in the Emergency Health Services Department. She worked on a contract basis for a set time period. Her contract
AA Foundries Settles Appeal
The employer who lost its discrimination trial in 2012 has dropped its appeal. A jury in U.S. district court awarded three plaintiffs $200,000 in damages. That amount was later reduced to $140,000 due to statutory caps on damages. See San Antonio Express News report.
The manager was accused of using the "n" word
City of San Antonio Appeals Arbitration Finding, Again
I frequently tell my clients or potential clients that if they want fairness at work, then they need to form a union. The case of Lt. Joseph Salvaggio of the San Antonio Police Department illustrates why. Lt. Salvaggio took the exam for promotion to captain in 2010. One of the instructions was that if a
SAWS Appeals Court Ruling, Again
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
SAWS Defense Costs $492,000
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