Summary Judgment Granted In Part, Denied In Part In COVID, Age Discrimination Suit
NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted summary judgment to an employer on state and federal age discrimination claims and an unjust enrichment counterclaim for $300,000 in erroneously distributed restricted stock units (RSUs) in a former employee’s suit alleging discrimination related to age and long COVID, finding that the employee failed to provide evidence establishing a sufficient basis “on which a jury could find pretextual” the employer’s reason for eliminating his position, and that the “facts establish the elements of unjust enrichment.”
Farm Business, DOL Debate H-2A Employer Violation Adjudication In High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Nov. 10 in a dispute between a family-owned New Jersey farming business and the Department of Labor (DOL) over whether the department can enforce conditions of the H-2A migrant worker visa program, including imposing civil penalties and ordering back wages, through its own adjudication process, with the DOL arguing that it can carry out the process under its immigration authority, while the business argued that claims must be decided by a federal court.
Former Talc Supplier, Injury Claimants Debate Successor Claims In High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should deny a petition for certiorari filed by the Official Committee of Talc Claimants in the Chapter 11 case of defunct talc supplier Whittaker, Clark & Daniels Inc. and affiliates because the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals correctly held on appeal that successor liability claims are property of the bankruptcy estates, even if the debtors could not have asserted the claims outside of bankruptcy, the debtors argue in a brief in opposition to the petition.
Excess Insurer Owes Coverage For Scholastic’s Settlement With Vanderbilt University
NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of Scholastic Inc. in its lawsuit seeking excess professional liability coverage for the remaining portion of a settlement amount reached with Vanderbilt University in an underlying trademark infringement and breach of contract action, holding that coverage was triggered because the underlying settlement was caused by the insured’s rendering of its professional services.
Anthropic Must Face Some Claims In Suit Alleging False Advertising
SAN FRANCISCO — Allegations that Anthropic PBC’s Claude AI subscribers were misled into believing that they would receive more monthly usage than they received support Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract claims, but the plaintiffs have not shown standing to pursue California unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising claims, a federal magistrate judge in California said in dismissing some of the claims from the suit and granting leave to amend.
Tribunal Denies Bifurcation Of U.S. Investors’ $204M Claim Against Panama
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Nov. 9 published a tribunal’s decision dismissing the Republic of Panama’s request for bifurcation of an arbitration claim brought against it by two U.S. investors who claim that Panama caused them more than $204 million in damages by abruptly annulling approvals of their housing investment, finding that resolving Panama’s objections first would not contribute to efficiency because it would require reviewing the merits.
High Court Stays Injunction Barring Texas-Mexico Border Wall Construction
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 9 granted a stay of an injunction entered by a Texas federal judge that halted construction of a massive border wall along the Texas-Mexico border, finding that “[t]he Government is exceedingly likely to prevail on its argument that the District Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate” a “so-called major-questions-doctrine claim” brought by two nonprofits and a river guide over the issuance of waivers of environmental and conservation laws and regulations to commence the project.
High Court Hears Debate Over Carlson, Bivens In Case Involving Injured Inmate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The assistant to the U.S. solicitor general on Nov. 9 urged the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Carlson v. Green, while the attorney for a staff nurse at a federal detention center urged the court to go further and overturn Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics during oral argument over a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling recognizing a cause of action for damages under Bivens for an inmate who was injured in a prison gang fight but was not sent to a hospital.
3rd Circuit OKs Interlocutory Appeal Of Class Certification In Severance Case
PHILADELPHIA — Without explanation for why it granted permission for an interlocutory appeal, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed to consider a challenge to certification of a mandatory class in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case concerning severance benefits.
Alaska High Court Allows Opioid Public Nuisance Claim Against Retail Pharmacies
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Supreme Court on Nov. 6 revived the state’s public nuisance claim against retail pharmacies over their alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic, holding that Alaska sufficiently alleged that the pharmacies’ failure to fulfill their legal duties when dispensing opioids unreasonably interfered with public rights.
U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear COVID Vaccine Mandate Dispute With Corporation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 9 denied a petition for certiorari by the employees in their individual capacities seeking review of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ affirmance of a lower court’s dismissal of the employees’ suit alleging wrongful termination by a company related to former employees’ refusal to comply with masking and testing policies after they were exempted from the requirement to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; the Supreme Court previously denied a similar petition for certiorari in a putative class suit.