Clearly the Denver judges couldn’t take the fighting between the attorneys anymore. After months of discovery warfare, the judge issued an order that the bad actors (the Defendants) would be held liable for the wage claims, leaving only the amount of the damages award to be determined. Pinkstaff v. Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc, (No. 09SA19, June 29, 2009). The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court had adopted the harshest sentence first, rather than trying less drastic sanctions for the behavior. As the Supreme Court explained, courts are - first and foremost - a place to try claims on the merits, not to punish bad actors by way of defaults. The matter now goes back to the trial court for further proceedings. I wonder what the trial judge will try next.

Posted by Diane V. Smith at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, the United States Supreme Court held that the City of New Haven, Connecticut violated Title VII, when it refused to certify the results of its promotional exams, which advanced almost only white firefighters for promotion. Ricci v. DeStefano (No. 07-1428, June 29, 2009). New Haven is made up of almost 60% minorities, but only a very small percentage of the promotion list included minority candidates. The city was understandably concerned about being sued for disparate impact discrimination. The Supreme Court rejected the City’s concern and actions, holding that the City could not demonstrate that it would have been sued if it hadn’t thrown out the test.

Continue reading "Court Rejects City’s Efforts to Avoid Discrimination Claims" »

Posted by Diane V. Smith at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Covenants not to compete can severely limit a person’s ability to pursue their chosen career path, if they can’t use their knowledge, skill and experience when that person leaves one employer to go to work for another. Depending on the circumstances, a person can be precluded from competing for a period generally ranging from 6 months to three years. That’s why the Colorado statute presumes that such covenants are void, unless the employer proves it to be valid under one of the four exceptions, as well as reasonable as to time and geographic coverage. Today, the Court of Appeals appeared to take a step toward loosening the statutory standard for determining whether a covenant is valid under the “executive and management personnel” exception.

Continue reading "Middle Managers' Right to Compete Limited" »

Posted by Diane V. Smith at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On June 23, 2009, the attorneys at Burg Simpson filed a complaint on behalf of their client, Barbara Bender, against Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Baxter International, Inc., Scientific Protein Laboratories, LLC, and American Capital, Ltd. in the pending heparin products liability litigation.

Continue reading "BURG SIMPSON FILES NEW LAWSUIT REGARDING CONTAMINATED HEPARIN" »

Posted by Janet G. Abaray at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.burgsimpson.com/age.htmlToday, the United States Supreme Court created a new rule of law, making it more difficult for employees to make a claim for age discrimination in employment. In Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., the Supreme Court held that in order to have a viable claim, the employee must show that age is the motivating factor for the adverse employment decision. In other words, "but for" the employee's age, the employer would not have taken the action it did. This is a significant change in the law. Under prior cases, the employee only needed to show that age was one factor contributing to the adverse employment action. The decision was a close one, with 4 of the 9 Justices dissenting.

Continue reading "Age and Adverse Employment Decisions" »

Posted by Diane V. Smith at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week, three patients in a Delaware hospital, each of whom received Heparin, a blood thinner distributed by Baxter International Inc., suffered intra cranial bleeding. Baxter insists that the injuries, while unfortunate, are not related to the quality of its Heparin product.

Continue reading "Heparin Contamination Worries Not Over for Baxter" »

Posted by Janet G. Abaray at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

YAZ, a birth control pill manufactured by Bayer Healthcare, often is touted not only as effective in the prevention of pregnancy, but also as effective in the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMMD) and acne. But in October 2008, the FDA deemed Bayer’s advertisement of YAZ, known for its slogan – “Beyond Birth Control”- misleading and in violation of federal regulations.

Continue reading "YAZ - Not All It’s Made Out To Be" »

Posted by Janet G. Abaray at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)