Thursday, June 6, 2019
- Maine Legislature: Signed by the Governor May 28, 2019, and effective January 1, 2021, new paid sick leave law will allow employees of employers with more than 10 employees to take one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours in one year of employment
- US Supreme Court: Title VII’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge-filing requirement–although mandatory–is not a jurisdictional requirement in a court action
- US Supreme Court: Probable cause for an arrest will defeat a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim unless otherwise similarly situated individuals would not have been arrested
- Fourth Circuit: Summary judgment denied in Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act claim that restaurant was required to allow patron with celiac disease to eat outside-prepared gluten-free meal in the restaurant
- US District Court ME: In denying defendant’s request to compel plaintiff to testify about communications during a deposition preparation meeting between her, her counsel, and a fact witness, Magistrate Judge cited that the Supreme Court has recognized that the common law work product doctrine protection is broader than the work product doctrine codified in Rule 26(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26(b)(3) (which only references “documents and tangible things”), and protects “‘the files and the mental impressions of an attorney’ developed in the course of preparation for possible litigation, which may be reflected ‘in interviews, statements, memoranda, correspondence, briefs, mental impressions, personal beliefs, and countless other tangible and intangible ways'”
- US District Court ME: Recognizing that venue in Title VII cases is controlled by venue provision in Title VII rather the general venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391, Magistrate Judge held that venue in Maine was improper where plaintiff’s only connection to Maine is that she resides here
- US District Court ME: Plaintiff was permitted to amend her Rule 36 admission where doing so would promote the presentation of the merits of the action and defendant did not claim prejudice
- Law Court: Summary judgment affirmed for surgeon who allegedly misread CT scan that caused a delay in treatment where there was insufficient evidence that plaintiff’s outcome would have been different had the scan been read properly
- Maine Superior Court: Mediation fee should be divided 50% to the plaintiff and 50% shared among six defendants (not 1/7th, 6/7th as plaintiff requested) where five defendants were employees of the sixth, a town, and it was unclear whether liability could be established against any one defendant that was not shared by the town
- MHRC: June 17th Commission Meeting Agenda posted
