Case Summaries

[05/17] Wilson v. Dollar General Corporation
Summary judgment for defendant-employer on plaintiff's claim that defendant failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for his disability in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act is affirmed, where: 1) plaintiff had standing to maintain his claim despite his bankruptcy filing because, due to the powers vested in the Chapter 13 debtor and trustee, a Chapter 13 debtor may retain standing to bring his pre-bankruptcy petition claims; but 2) plaintiff was unable to show he could perform the essential functions of his position with a reasonable accommodation.

[05/17] Colon v. Tracey
Summary judgment for defendants on plaintiff's claims for unlawful employment retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is affirmed, where plaintiff did not establish: 1) a prima facie case of retaliation; and 2) that the defendants' stated rationales for their purportedly unlawful actions toward her were pretextual.

[05/16] New Vista Nursing and Rehabilitation v. NLRB
Summary judgment for nurses union against plaintiff on a charge of unfair labor practices, and subsequent orders affirming the same, are vacated, where: 1) the Recess of the Senate in the Recess Appointments Clause refers to only intersession breaks, i.e. breaks between sessions of the Senate; and consequently, 2) the NLRB panel below lacked the requisite number of members to exercise the NLRB's authority because one panel member was invalidly appointed during an intrasession break.

[05/14] US v. City of New York
In civil rights action brought by the United States, alleging racial discrimination in the hiring of New York City firefighters: 1) summary judgment on the disparate treatment claim against defendant-city is vacated; 2) dismissal of the federal claims against Mayor Bloomberg is affirmed; 3) dismissal of the state law claims against Mayor Bloomberg and the Fire Commissioner is affirmed; 4) dismissal of the federal law claims against the Fire Commissioner is vacated; 5) the injunction against defendant-city with respect to the hiring of entry-level firefighters is modified, and, as modified, is affirmed; and 6) the bench trial on the liability phase of the discriminatory treatment claim against defendant-city is reassigned to a different district judge.

[05/14] McCoy v. Pacific Maritime Association
Judgment for defendant on plaintiff's claims of sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress is affirmed in part and reversed and remanded, where: 1) the trial court did not err in summarily adjudicating the sexual harassment and emotional distress claims, because the harassment was not so severe and pervasive as to alter the conditions of plaintiff's employment, and defendants' conduct failed to meet the extreme and outrageous standard necessary for the emotional distress claim; 2) the trial court properly found defendant PMA was not plaintiff's employer as that term is used in FEHA; 3) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting a new trial; 4) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence, except as to evidence of sufficiently similar retaliation by defendants against other employees; 5) there was substantial evidence to support the jury verdict in plaintiff's favor on the retaliation claim and thus the court erred in setting aside that verdict; and 6) a constructive discharge is not a prerequisite to an award of economic damages for discrimination under FEHA.

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