Arbitration agreements appear in several industries, automobile dealerships, online subscriptions and, of course, in many jobs. The employer will often ask a new employee to sign an arbitration agreement in their first few days of a new job. But, are all those arbitration agreements binding? In Mertens v. Benelux, the Fifth Circuit applied Texas
Discovery is a central step in all lawsuits. Perhaps even more so in employment cases. Since, in almost every employment suit, the employer has 90% of the pertinent documents. But, the discovery obligations apply to both sides. In one recent case, Hernandez v. Results Staffing, Inc., No. 4:14-CV-182 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 1, 2017), the
Those of us who practice within the boundaries of the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi) have known for some time that the Fifth Circuit has become the most aggressively conservative appellate court in the country. In fact, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, that was an appeal from a
I have written about Judge Lynn Hughes of the Southern District of Texas here and here. He has earned a reputation as a Judge who consistently makes anti-plaintiff comments in court, who makes disparaging comments about minorities – and even once barred a female attorney from his court room apparently simply passed on her name.
In Spears v. Louisiana College, No. 20-30522, 2023 WL 2810057 (5th Cir. 4/6/2023), the appellate court addressed the situation in which an employee’s duties are are assigned to various employees. Some courts refer to this practice as “fractioning.” Carolyn Spears taught at Louisiana College for many years. She contracted cancer in 2012 and again
Lawyers can be sanctioned by the court for “unreasonably and vexatiously” multiplying a lawsuit. That means the lawyer can be sanctioned for creating unnecessary work. In the lawsuit Vaughan v. Lewisville ISD, the plaintiff claimed his vote as a white voter was diluted by some measure taken by the Lewisville ISD. The judge sanctioned
There are folks with disabilities who test public accommodations like a hobby. They do this testing across the country, often from great distances. They justifiably want to see stores, hotels, banks and more satisfy the Americans with Disabilities Act requirement to make their places of business open to persons with disabilities. But, can a tester
When an appellate decision starts with a quote from the Federalist papers about despotism, you know this decision presents a bumpy ride. In Community Financial Services Assoc. of Ame. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, No. 21-50826 (5th Cir. 10/19/2022), the Fifth Circuit quotes from the Federalist papers six different times. The Federalist papers have
The Fifth Circuit giveth and the Fifth Circuit taketh away. We just talked about a poorly drafted decision in Owens v. Circassia Pharmaceuticals, No. 21-10760 (5th Cir. 5/13/2022) regarding an important employment law decision. See that post here. This Owens decision turned Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, 530 U.S. 133 (2000) on
I previously wrote about Judge Sam Kent here and here. He was a Federal Judge in Galveston, Texas. Even before the allegations arose, he was known as a bullying sort of judge and one who was generally opposed to discrimination lawsuits. Allegations arose that he was harassing female members of his staff. He attacked