Employment Law News & Resources for Employers

News

Employment Practices

[03/09] Senate to take up unemployment insurance extension
[03/08] Allergan CEO got $11.1M in compensation in 2009
[03/08] Court will decide if NASA checks can continue
[03/04] Jobless claims drop, productivity revised higher
[03/04] No is no: More men file sexual harassment claims
[03/03] Audio indicates kid directed planes at NY airport
[03/03] GM's Bob Lutz to retire
[03/03] Lone holdout gives in; Senate OKs jobless benefits
[03/03] Feds probe NM refinery explosion that killed 2
[03/03] Toyota to spend $250M on workers at Calif. plant

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Entertainment

[03/09] 8 music acts sue over Ala. festival payments
[03/09] Lil Wayne begins 1-year jail term in NYC gun case
[03/09] Suburban NY mayor says 'SNL' got her city wrong
[03/09] David Foster Wallace archive goes to U. of Texas
[03/09] Germany: Man convicted for Crawford extortion
[03/09] Girls Gone Wild associate fined $5,000; no prison
[03/09] Sequel to 'Phantom of the Opera' opens in London
[03/09] Harry Smith colonoscopy to air on `Early Show'
[03/09] Utah funeral service held for Marie Osmond's son
[03/09] Producer admits to attempted Letterman shakedown

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Litigation

[03/09] Prius driver's 911 call: 'My car can't slow down'
[03/09] Feds to probe cause of runaway Prius in California
[03/08] Stay tuned: More fee disputes over local TV coming
[03/08] Tax season bringing out the fraud artists
[03/08] GE: Limit PCB contamination during Hudson dredging
[03/08] Court will hear case about vaccine side effects
[03/05] House panel wants more Toyota acceleration details
[03/05] Winans family member accused of Ponzi scheme
[03/04] Judge denies motions in Iowa slaughterhouse case
[03/04] Yukos vs Russia hearing opens in European court

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Case Summaries

Commercial Law

[03/04] New York v. Golden Feather Smoke Shop, Inc.
In defendants' appeal from a preliminary injunction prohibiting the sale of untaxed cigarettes other than to members of the Unkechauge Nation for their personal use, the Second Circuit certifies the following questions to the New York Court of Appeals: 1) Does N.Y. Tax Law section 471-e, either by itself or in combination with the provisions of section 471, impose a tax on cigarettes sold on Native American reservations when some or all of those cigarettes may be sold to persons other than members of the reservation's nation or tribe?; 2) If the answer to Question 1 is "no," does N.Y. Tax Law section 471 alone impose a tax on cigarettes sold on Native American reservations when some or all of those cigarettes may be sold to persons other than members of the reservation's nation or tribe?

[03/02] Mac's Shell Serv., Inc. v. Shell Oil Prods. Co.
In an action under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (Act) by service station franchisees, alleging that a petroleum franchisor, Shell, and its assignee had constructively terminated their franchises and constructively failed to renew their franchise relationships by substantially changing the rental terms that the dealers had enjoyed for years, increasing costs for many of them, a circuit court's order partially affirming judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed in part where a franchisee who signs and operates under a renewal agreement with a franchisor may not maintain a constructive nonrenewal claim under the Act. However, the court of appeals' order is reversed in part where a franchisee cannot recover for constructive termination under the Act if the franchisor's allegedly wrongful conduct did not compel the franchisee to abandon its franchise.

[03/02] Pfizer v. Sup. Ct.
In plaintiffs' action against Pfizer, the manufacturer of Listerine mouthwash, pursuant to the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and False Advertising Law claiming that Pfizer marketed the mouthwash in a misleading manner by representing that the use of it can replace the use of dental floss in reducing plaque and gingivitis, defendant's petition for writ of mandate seeking to overturn an order certifying the class action is granted as the ruling certifying a class consisting of all persons who purchased Listerine in California during a six-month period is overbroad, and In re Tobacco II Cases, 46 Cal.4th 298 (2009), does not require a different disposition in this case.

[03/02] Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Comm. v. US
In plaintiff's action with the Court of International Trade challenging a determination that the multinational corporation provision, 19 U.S.C. section 1677b(d) (MNC Provision) did not apply to a company with affiliates in China and Vietnam, the court's decision is affirmed as the Department of Commerce acted in accordance with law in concluding that the MNC provision is not applicable when the non-exporting country is a nonmarket economy and normal value is based on a factors-of-production methodology.

[03/02] Ma v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.
In an action against Merrill Lynch based on unauthorized transfers from plaintiff's investment account, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where New York U.C.C. Section 4-A-505, which imposes a one-year statute of repose on certain claims based on electronic funds transfers, bars plaintiffs' common law claims, which had longer limitations periods.

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Education

[03/09] Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n v. Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & Sch.
In an employment discrimination and retaliation action brought by a teacher at a religious school claiming violations of the ADA, the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant based on the "ministerial exception" is vacated and remanded as, given the factual findings relating to plaintiff's primary duties as a teacher, the district court erred in its legal conclusion classifying her as a ministerial employee.

[03/02] Doe v. Kamehamema Schs./Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate
In a racial discrimination action against a school district in which plaintiffs, four minor children, sought to proceed anonymously in their suit, dismissal of the action is affirmed where the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow anonymity because the district court did not clearly err in its conclusion that plaintiffs did not reasonably fear severe harm.

[03/01] San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist. v. Laidlaw Transit, Inc.
In qui tam plaintiffs' suit seeking to recover funds on behalf of the San Francisco Unified School District under the California False Claims Act (CFCA), trial court's dismissal of the action is reversed as, under the CFCA, a vendor impliedly certifies that it complies with its express contractual requirements when it bills a public agency for providing goods and services, and allegations that the implied certification was false and had a natural tendency to influence the public agency's decision to pay for the goods or services are sufficient to survive a demurrer.

[02/23] Fairchild v. Liberty Indep. Sch. Dist.
In an action claiming that defendants violated plaintiff's First Amendment rights after firing her from a public school teacher position because they did not allow her at a school board meeting to present her side of her troubles with a teacher for whom she had been an aide, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where the board's policies were both viewpoint-neutral and reasonable in light of the forum's purpose.

[02/23] D.L. v. Unified Sch. Dist. No. 497
In an action challenging a local school district's conclusion that plaintiff-students were ineligible for special education services, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) plaintiffs abandoned their Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act claims by failing to provide supplemental briefing to clarify and update the claims; and 2) plaintiffs lacked standing because they could not establish any causation between defendants' allegedly discriminatory conduct and any injury suffered by plaintiffs.

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Entertainment

[03/02] Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick
In a class action alleging copyright infringement, a circuit court's ruling vacating a settlement class certification order for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is reversed where 17 U.S.C. section 411(a)'s registration requirement is a precondition to filing a copyright infringement claim, but a copyright holder's failure to comply with that requirement does not restrict a federal court's subject matter jurisdiction over infringement claims involving unregistered works.

[03/01] Media Techs. Licensing, LLC. v. Upper Deck Co.
In a patent infringement suit involving patents related to memorabilia cards, district court's conclusion that the patents are invalid for obviousness is affirmed where: 1) defendants have met the burden of showing that it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to attach a sports-related item instead of those items attached in the prior art references; and 2) secondary objective evidence also fails to establish non-obviousness.

[02/25] Maverick Recording Co. v. Harper
In a copyright infringement action based on unlawful file sharing, partial summary judgment for plaintiffs is affirmed where: 1) the uncontroverted evidence was more than sufficient to compel a finding that defendant had downloaded the files; and 2) defendant infringed plaintiffs' exclusive right to reproduce their copyrighted works by downloading the 37 audio files to her computer without authorization. Moreover, the partial denial of summary judgment for plaintiffs is reversed where lack of legal sophistication could not overcome a properly asserted 17 U.S.C. 402(d) limitation to the innocent infringer defense.

[02/16] Flanigan's Enters., Inc. v. Fulton County, Ga.
In an First Amendment challenge to an ordinance prohibiting the sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol in adult entertainment establishments, summary judgment for plaintiff is reversed where the ordinance attempted to insulate the communities surrounding the adult entertainment establishments from the undesirable elements that tended to accompany those businesses, and thus survived intermediate scrutiny.

[02/01] Peterson v. Grisham
In a defamation action against author John Grisham based on false statements he allegedly made about plaintiffs in a book, dismissal of the action is affirmed where: 1) any connection between defendants' statements and an accusation of criminal activity was far too tenuous for the court to declare them as unprivileged for purposes of Okla. Stat. 1443.1; and 2) because section 1443.1 applied to plaintiffs' libel claims, plaintiffs were also barred under the statute from asserting a valid claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress or false light.

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With offices in San Antonio, Dallas, Laredo, and Houston, Texas, as well as Mexico City, Mexico, the minority-owned law firm of Escamilla, Poneck & Cruz, LLP, offers a wide range of legal services to governmental agencies, private corporations, and individuals throughout the state of Texas including the cities of Jourdanton, Floresville, Seguin, New Braunfels, Boerne, Laredo, Macdona, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Grapevine, Colleyville, South Lake, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Denton, Plano, Richardson, and Flower Mound, and throughout the counties of Bexar, Atascosa, Wilson, Guadalupe, Comal, Kendall, Tarrant, Fort Bend, Harris, Wise, Hays, Williamson, Webb, Live Oak, Nueces, Austin and Cameron.

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