[UPDATE: Originally posted in January, another correct Minnesota Litigator prediction, and another Plaintiff fares badly at the Minnesota Supreme Court (opinion here (Judges Page, Meyer, and Anderson, Paul, dissenting in two separate dissenting opinions)).] Let’s say an employer (say, Capella University) terminates an employee (Elen Bahr) because, asked to perform some act, she refused, sincerely […]
In a published opinion released today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Smith, Bye, Colloton, opinion by Smith) reaffirmed its long-held and not controversial view that “being very busy” does not qualify as “excusable neglect” for missing a court deadline and, as a result, the plaintiff in an employment discrimination case lost […]
Judge Michael J. Davis (D. Minn.) has adopted the December 3, 2009 Report and Recommendation (R&R) of Mag. Judge Keyes dismissing claims by attorney Julie Delgado-O’Neil (through her lawyer, Jill Clark) that she was the victim of racial discrimination by the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office (a complaint first reported here). Mag. Judge Keyes’ “R&R” is […]
This recent ruling from Mag. Judge Arthur Boylan illustrates the challenges of being a class action lawyer and also is yet another example of the Court’s general disinclination to impose sanctions. Opt-in plaintiffs in this class action against Domino’s Pizza are pizza delivery drivers alleging violations of the federal and the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards […]
An out-of-state company hires employees from a Minnesota company (C.H. Robinson), with whom the employees had signed non-disclosure agreements and non-competition agreements. Those agreements also included a forum selection clause providing that litigation brought to enforce the terms of the agreements would be brought in court in Minnesota (state or federal). (Other defendants/former C.H. Robinson […]
The United States Court of Appeals ruled today in the Williams case, discussed here previously. The lower court’s ruling has been affirmed “in all respects.”
The Eighth Circuit revived a plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim that the U.S. District Court, D. Minn. (Kyle, J.) had thrown out. Plaintiffs first brought suit against American Building Maintenance Inc. (ABMI), the parent company of their employer, American Building Maintenance of Kentucky (ABMK), which they added more than 90 days later. They made claims […]
Life Time used a compensation plan whereby it gave a year-end bonus depending on performance of certain business units. Bonuses were issued quarterly through the year based on then-current financial performance but the company reserved the right to deduct from pay to the extent total year performance did not meet bonus criteria. (For biblical precedent, […]
When bringing a whistleblower claim — that is, when bringing a lawsuit claiming wrongful termination for “blowing the whistle” — employees and their counsel must take care and be sure that the whistle-blowing related to a violation of law (“or rule adopted pursuant to law” — i.e., a government regulation). In the Kratzer case decided […]
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of the employer/defendant in a bizarre case in which an employee appears to have felt persecuted by a co-worker (who also happened to be his boss’ wife) and, among other similar allegations, by her repeated insistence that she could communicate […]