The McDonald’s coffee cup case from New Mexico some 20 years ago is often cited by folks alleging lawsuit abuse. What those folks do not know is the coffee was kept at a very high temperature (above 160 degrees) despite many complaints, the lady suffered third degree burns on her inner thigh and the McDonald’s
Witness Indicted for Perjury
People lie in civil cases. They really do. Unlike what you see on TV, witnesses can usually lie in non-criminal cases and get away with it. Prosecutors just are not interested in going after folks who lie in a civil case. They have too many more serious cases to deal with. But, one woman in
Plaintiffs Settle Despite Hung Jury
Discrimination cases are difficult. They are more difficult than many other types of cases, because there is an intrinsic bias against discrimination claimants. As Judge Kopf (of Hercules and the Umpire blog) said, many judges are simply skeptical about discrimination claims. We see some of the challenges in this article about successful discrimination and retaliation
Court Finds Factual Issues Regarding Accommodations
The ADA Amendments Act was passed in 2009. Since then, courts have addressed more fundamental questions about disability claims, such as what are the essential functions of a job and how can they be accommodated? On one such case, Perez v. Sprint/United Management Co., 2013 WL 6970898, No. 12-CV-3161 (N.D. Ga 12/19/2013), the court
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
Court of Appeals Affirms Sale of Museum Building To Low Bidder
The Third Court of Appeals in Austin upheld the lower court decision regarding the former museum building. I wrote about that trial here. In the trial, it appeared from the newspaper account that one of the defendant’s key witnesses was impeached. The court of appeals apparently did not agree with my assessment. See San
Teacher Awarded $2 Million in Americans with Disabilities Act Trial
Michael Fox (not the actor) writes a nice blog on employment law from the employer’s perspective at: http://employerslawyer.blogspot.com/. He wrote recently about a jury result in Madison, Wisconsin. A jury awarded $2 million to a teacher who sought the simple accommodation of a class 
room with a window. Otherwise, she was subject to crying spells