Defendant Charles “Pete” Caw (“Caw”), Assistant Chief of Police in the City of Mountlake Terrace Police Department, appeals from the denial of qualified immunity in Plaintiff Martha Karl’s (“Karl”) 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging First Amendment retaliation. The district court held it was clearly established in December 2008 that a supervisor cannot retaliate against a public emplo... More...   $0 (05-08-2012 - WA)

Virginia Hunt had worked for defendant DaVita, Inc. for nineteen years when she had a heart attack requiring bypass surgery and went on medical leave. While on leave, she also received treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. After six months of leave, DaVita terminated her employment pursuant to its established leave policy. DaVita told Hunt that she was eligible for re-hire to her position once she... More...   $0 (05-04-2012 - IL)

Dr. Ahmad Jajeh was an attending physician in the Hematology/Oncology Department at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, until extensive budget cuts forced the County to lay off over 200 physicians, including Dr. Jajeh. Following his termination, Dr. Jajeh brought suit in district court claiming he was subjected to discrimination on the basis of his religion and national origin, and termi... More...   $0 (05-02-2012 - IL)

In Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410, 421, 126 S. Ct. 1951, 164 L. Ed. 2d 689 (2006), the United States Supreme Court concluded ‘‘that when public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, the employees are not speaking as citizens for [f]irst [a]mendment1 purposes, and the [c]onstitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline.’’ The principal i... More...   $0 (05-01-2012 - CT)

The plaintiff, Carmen I. Perez-Dickson, brought this action claiming that the defendants, the board of education of the city of Bridgeport (board), Henry R. Kelly, the former assistant superintendent of the Bridgeport public schools (school district), and Daniel Shamas,1 the former acting superintendent of the school district, disciplined her for exercising her rights guaranteed by the first amend... More...   $0 (05-01-2012 - CT)

Colleen Harper sued Thomas W. Manning, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and others on hostile work place environment (sexual harassment) and retaliation theories claiming that an auditor was sexually harassing her and that she was retaliated against when she complained about how she was being treated.

Harper worked as a supervisor of clerks in the Chicopee office and Manning v... More...   $0 (04-29-2012 - MA)

This case presents the question of whether Kentucky's Whistleblower Act protects city employees. The Muhlenberg Circuit Court granted summary judgment for the City of Central City, Kentucky ("Central City"), although that court did not address the issue before us. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that cities are not "employers" under the Whistleblower Act, and therefore are not subject to... More...   $0 (04-26-2012 - KY)

Rodger Hartnett, a former employee of the San Diego County Office of Education (Education Office), sued several Education Office employees (individual defendants) alleging they retaliated against him in violation of Education Code section 44113, subdivision (a)1 (section 44113(a)). Among other relief, Hartnett sought punitive damages and attorneys fees under section 44114, subdivision (c) (section... More...   $0 (04-26-2012 - CA)

George Ballato lost his employment with Comcast Corporation when he failed to show up for work on three consecutive shifts and failed to notify his department of his absences or to request leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601–54. Ballato filed a lawsuit against Comcast claiming the company interfered with his ability to request an excused absence under the FML... More...   $0 (04-26-2012 - MN)

Defendant-Appellant Chris Crider, the mayor of the City of Milan, appeals the district court’s denial of qualified immunity. Because Crider prohibited one of his employees from speaking about matters of public concern, in violation of the employee’s clearly established First Amendment rights, we AFFIRM the denial of qualified immunity.

I.

Plaintiff-Appellee Lindsey Whitney has be... More...   $0 (04-24-2012 - TN)

David L. Lewis is a former parttime police officer for the Village of Belgium, Illinois— a town of just over 400 people. On January 6, 2010, Lewis filed a one-count Amended Complaint arising under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 against four defendants who allegedly participated in a conspiracy to prosecute him for various sexual offenses to retaliate against him for cooperating with an FBI investi... More...   $0 (04-23-2012 - IL)

James M. Donovan appeals from an order of the superior court granting respondents‟ special motion to strike his complaint under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 (the anti-SLAPP statute).1 He contends the trial court erred in granting the motion because (1) respondents‟ conduct does not fall within the scope of the anti-SLAPP statute; and (2) his complaint had merit. Because we conclude t... More...   $0 (04-19-2012 - CA)

Dwaine K. Hicks worked as a mechanic for two years at the Forest Preserve District (the “FPD”) of Cook County’s Central Garage, where he primarily repaired trucks. During his time there, he received twenty-eight disciplinary action forms from his supervisor. Hicks, who is black, participated in an investigation of discrimination leveled against his supervisor, and later filed his own discrim... More...   $0 (04-18-2012 - IL)

Under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) (9 U.S.C. §§ 1–16), ―arbitration is a matter of contract.‖ (Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Co. (1960) 363 U.S. 574, 582 [80 S.Ct. 1347]; accord, 9 U.S.C. § 2.) An arbitration contract typically consists of the parties‘ mutual promises to arbitrate their claims against each other.

In this employment case, an employer and its at-will employee... More...   $0 (04-17-2012 - CA)

Veronica Dass brought this action against Paula Jeske, the Chicago Board of Education (Board), and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) 1 after the Board accepted Jeske’s recommendation that Dass not be renewed for the 2007-2008 school year and sent Dass notice that her employment would terminate on August 24, 2007. Dass alleged that: (1) the Board and CPS discriminated against her on the basis of h... More...   $0 (04-13-2012 - IL)

Appellant Tracey Murphy appeals pro se the dismissal of his petition for writ of mandamus. We affirm.

Background Facts

Appellant filed a small claims suit in the justice court regarding “destruction of personal property in retaliation and negligence of the public servants.” Appellant claims he filed the case on April 5, 2007, by handing his petition to the prison authorities to... More...   $0 (04-12-2012 - TX)

Shira Stallworth filed the instant suit pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that her former employer, Singing River Health System (Singing River), discriminated against her on the basis of her religion, subjected her to a hostile work environment, and retaliated against her. She also alleged a state law claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress... More...   $0 (04-11-2012 - LA)

Plaintiff-appellant Myrta B. Morales-Cruz claims that she experienced gender-based discrimination and retaliation when the University of Puerto Rico School of Law (UPRLS) refused to extend her probationary period of employment and, thus, effectively removed her from its faculty. She sued UPRLS and a number of its officials under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2(a),... More...   $0 (04-11-2012 - MA)

The Nasty Habit Saloon (the “Nasty Habit”), a popular bar operating in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, lost its liquor license after a series of altercations between its employees and its customers requiring police intervention. The Nasty Habit’s license was revoked pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 125.12(2)(ag)(2), which provides that a liquor license can be revoked or suspended if the holder “keeps or m... More...   $0 (04-09-2012 - WI)

Hiram Kirkland appeals a summary judgment entered in favor of his former employer, the City of Austin (“the City”). While Kirkland still worked for the City, the City received an anonymous tip that Kirkland had violated the City’s conflict-of-interest policies.

The City’s Chief Financial Officer, Leslie Browder, placed Kirkland on administrative leave while the City investigated. Th... More...   $0 (04-05-2012 - TX)

Fort Bend Independent School District (the “school”) appeals from the trial court’s denial of its plea to the jurisdiction, which challenges Alice Gayle’s whistleblower suit against the school. In three issues, the school contends that the trial court erred in denying its plea to the jurisdiction because Gayle failed to “initiate” the school’s grievance procedures—a jurisdictional ... More...   $0 (04-05-2012 - TX)

Johnny Chappell was discharged from his employment with Bilco Company (Bilco) on August 10, 2007. He sued, alleging that his termination was the result of interference with and retaliation for his exercise of his rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and racial discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The district court granted 1 summary judgment for Bilco, and Chappell appeals... More...   $0 (04-05-2012 - AR)

The district court granted summary judgment dismissing Willie E. Love’s lawsuit against Tyson Foods, Inc. It held that Love was judicially estopped from bringing his claims against Tyson because he had failed to disclose them in his Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding. We AFFIRM.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Tyson Foods, Inc. (“Tyson”) hired Willie E. Love (“Love”) as... More...   $0 (04-05-2012 - LA)

In this proceeding petitioner Mustafa Rehmani seeks a writ of mandate to overturn an order granting summary adjudication to his employer, real party in interest Ericsson, Inc. Rehmani contends that the superior court erroneously dismissed his claims of workplace harassment based on national origin and religion, violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code section 12940... More...   $0 (03-29-2012 - CA)

The self-represented plaintiff, Li Li, appeals from the summary judgment rendered by the trial court in favor of the defendants, Canberra Industries, Packard BioScience (Packard), Perkin-Elmer Life Sciences, Darren Lee, Roberta Tyska (formerly Roberta Kuhn), Mark Schmeizl, Wayne Richardson, Eugene Della Vecchia, Richard McKernan and Emery G. Olcott. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court e... More...   $0 (03-27-2012 - CT)