In August 2000, plaintiff James D. Marcil, a serviceman at the Providence Gas Company (Providence Gas),1 approached John F. Morris at Morris' store, Charron Supply, to discuss a campaign sign that was prominently displayed on the premises. The sign promoted the candidacies of defendants Robert T. Kells and Thomas C. Slater, who both were on the ballot in the Democratic primaries for the s

Just a few days after she appeared on a witness list of another teacher who had filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) against the city of Lowell (city) school department for sex discrimination, the plaintiff, Sara Ciccarelli, unexpectedly learned that she would not be reappointed as a provisional teacher. Ciccarelli then brought this action against th

At issue in this appeal is whether summary judgment was correctly entered in favor of Barnstable County (county) thereby dismissing Ahadul Quazi's two-count complaint alleging retaliatory discharge, in violation of G. L. c. 149, § 185 (count I), and failure to pay overtime wages, in violation of G. L. c. 149, §§ 148 and 150 (count II). For the reasons set forth below, the summary judgment is re

This interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified immunity to supervisors in a county Department of Family and Children Services ("DFCS") requires us to determine if internal complaints about caseloads are constitutionally protected public speech that shield the employees from termination or transfer. The district judge determined that case managers who complained regarding their ca

Plaintiff Ken Marable appeals the district court's grant of a motion for summary judgment in favor of the defendants, with resulting dismissal of Marable's case. Marable appeals the district court's summary judgment dismissing his claims for damages and injunctive relief to "protect [his] rights . . . under the U.S. Constitution": 1) a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim alleging violation of his Fi

Four employees of a petroleum transportation company sought to bring a wage and hour class action against their employer, alleging: (1) the failure to pay overtime; (2) the requirement of off-the-clock work; (3) the failure to provide meal and rest breaks; (4) the incorrect calculation of vacation pay; and (5) the failure to pay pro rata vacation pay upon termination of employment. The pl

Shane Lachtman entered the graduate program in the History Department of the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in the fall of 2001. After his first year, Lachtman was informed of deficiencies in his academic performance and of certain requirements, including improvement in his writing, he needed to meet to advance to the Ph.D. program. In February 2003, three professors in the Histor

Plaintiff-Appellant James D. Wallace appeals the district court's order granting the Defendant-Appellee City of San Diego's ("City") motion for judgment as a matter of law and conditionally granting a new trial. The district court issued its order after a jury found that the City retaliated against Wallace in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (US

Patricia Springer ("Plaintiff") appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Convergys Customer Management Group Inc. ("Convergys") in her employment discrimination claim alleging a racially discriminatory failure to promote under the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 1981. For the reasons explained below, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment.

Plaintiff-Appellant David Earl Shero appeals from the district court's grant of qualified immunity to Defendants-Appellees Dorothy Parker (city attorney), William Galletly (city manager), and Ivonne Buzzard (city clerk) (collectively "City employees"). He also appeals from the grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant-Appellee City of Grove, Oklahoma ("the City"). The district court

This appeal arises out of a malicious prosecution action filed by plaintiff Sycamore Ridge Apartments, LLC (Sycamore Ridge) against defendants Shirley Powell, William H. Naumann, Christopher H. Hagen, Lisa D. Stepp, Steven M. Nunoz, and Naumann & Levine LLP (collectively Naumann defendants), and Jeffrey LaFave and LaFave & Rice (jointly LaFave defendants). The malicious prosecution action

{ 1} This is a case of first impression that requires us to weigh the statutory rights of an employee to seek redress for claims of discrimination without retaliation against the constitutional right of an employer to petition the courts for redress after prevailing in the employee's cause of action against him. For the reasons that follow, we hold that an employer is not barred from fili

Plaintiff James Fox filed a civil complaint against defendant Eagle Distributing Company ("Eagle"), alleging that his former employer Eagle violated his rights under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 et seq., the Tennessee Human Rights Act ("THRA"), TENN. CODE ANN. § 4-21-407, and the Tennessee Whistleblower Act ("TWA"), TENN. CODE ANN. § 4-21-407. Fox addi

Michael Neveu sued the Fresno Police Department, Chief Jerry Dyer; Deputy Chiefs Darrell Fifield and Enmark; Capts. Marty West and Greg Garner; and Lts. Dennis Montejano, Keith Foster and Michael Guthrie on civil rights employment law violation and retaliation theories claiming that he was harassment, favoritism, cheating and retaliation. Neveu claimed several high-ranking superiors harassed hi

Justice Flaherty, for the Court. Political campaigning, especially on the party primary election level, is not a game for the faint of heart. This dispute arises from such a contest in a state senatorial district in the City of Providence. The upshot of this primary campaign battle was a judgment for civil conspiracy and slander entered against two of the combatants, who timely appealed t

Joseph V. Curran sued the Essex County Sheriff's Department, the Sheriff, and others, asserting they terminated his employment as a correctional officer in retaliation for his speech, in violation of the First Amendment and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. The district court found that the public interest in the employee's speech was outweighed by the danger the speech would cause to th

The Clery Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f) (the Act), requires colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to notify their constituent communities of certain reported crimes. This case requires us to construe, for the first time at the federal appellate level, the Act's notification requirements. After analyzing the language and purpose of the Act, charting the dimensio

Danielle Coziahr, age 32, sued the Chula Vista Elementary School District on sexual discrimination, pregnancy discrimination and retaliation theories claiming that school principal, Alex Cortes, took a disliking for shortly after he became the new principal of the school in 2005. Coziahr asked for a private secure place to use to pump breast milk for her new baby. She eventually got the room

Karen G. Harris, an African-American, sued ADT Security Services, Inc., for race discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e. The jury returned a verdict for ADT. Harris appeals. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.

I.

ADT hired Harris as a Customer Service Specialist in 1997, promoting her to T

At issue is the enforceability under Massachusetts law unconscionability doctrine of class action waivers (of Fair Labor Standards Act claims) contained in a company-imposed arbitration/dispute resolution program.

Two managers brought a class action suit against their former employer, Dynamics Research Corporation ("DRC"), for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"),

Defendants County of Orange (County) and Chris Norby appeal from the trial court's denial of their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) following a jury determination that the County terminated Pamela Mokler in violation of California's whistleblower statute, Labor Code section 1102.5, and that Norby sexually harassed Mokler, creating a hostile work environment under the

In 1994, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (the University) employed Patricia Garrett as the Director of Nursing, OB/Gyn/Neonatal Services at a hospital that it operated. At the end of August of that year, Garrett was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the following months, she underwent two surgeries, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy.

Three weeks after her surgeries in Sep

Plaintiff brought suit under Title VII alleging that her employer discriminated against her on the basis of sex and race, subjected her to a hostile work environment, and retaliated against her. The district court granted summary judgment to the employer, concluding that plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case with respect to all claims. Because plaintiff has failed to make a showi

This is an employment discrimination action brought by plaintiff-appellant David Bennett against his quondam employer, Saint-Gobain Corporation, and two of its executives, John R. Mesher and Timothy L. Feagans. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of all the defendants.

In this appeal, the plaintiff assigns three broad categories of error. First, he asserts that t

After being fired for alleged insubordination and violating workplace rules, James Willard sued his former employer, Khotol Services Corporation, for wrongful discharge, breach of employment contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The superior court dismissed Willard's original claims for breach of contract and implied-covenant claims on grounds of pre