Legal Updates
Thursday, March 19, 2015
- Maine Superior Court: In denying primary care doctor’s motion for summary judgment on fraud and punitive damages claims in medical malpractice claim in which patient with a history of breast cancer died after being diagnosed with metastatic bone cancer, the court found sufficient evidence of fraud and malice where defendant who told patient that oncologist had reviewed her lumbar MRI (she had severe back pain) and felt that nothing further needed to be done had made the statement in order to cover up the fact that he had allowed months to pass without taking action, and oncologist had actually said patient needed a full workup
- Maine Superior Court: In deciding 80B appeal and motions for summary judgment on §1983 due process claims arising out of former town employees termination following a license suspension for OUI (the town alleged he failed to notify it of the suspension as required by rule), the court held that due process claims were available in addition to the 80B appeal, plaintiff was denied a pre-termination hearing, there was sufficient evidence of bias in the termination decision to establish denial of due process, and, under 80B, select board’s termination decision was vacated and remanded because because plaintiff had not violated the rule requiring notice of suspension
- First Circuit: In reversing denial of motion to substitute party after death of plaintiff in Americans with Disabilities Act employment discrimination claim, the court noted that the ADA is silent on whether claims are inheritable and held that claim was inheritable under Puerto Rico law (the court did not decide whether federal common law or state law applied because the parties agreed Puerto Rico law did)
- Law Court: In affirming summary judgment for bank on claim arising out of plaintiff’s spouse depositing $109,669.49 annuity into joint checking account without plaintiff’s indorsement and then withdrawing $40,000, the court held that Uniform Commercial Code did not require indorsement on check before bank deposited the funds
- Maine Legislature: LD 960 would amend Maine’s family medical leave law to allow, in part, leave to be taken by an employee to care for a “grandparent” and “great-grandparent”
Friday, March 13, 2015
- First Circuit: Noting that the standard of review of an arbitrator’s ruling is “among the narrowest known in the law,” the court upheld a $600,000 award to plaintiff in an employment discrimination case in which arbitration panel’s decision was based on a law plaintiff did not assert and the statute of limitations may have expired
- First Circuit: In dismissing defendants’ appeal from denial of summary judgment on pretrial detainee’s constitutional claims, the court held that defendants did not come forward with any purely legal issues that called into question the district court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds
- Maine Superior Court: In denying defendant’s motion for summary judgment in automobile negligence action in which plaintiff pulled out in front of defendant who had the right of way, the court held that plaintiff’s testimony that he had a 100′ clear line of site before pulling out countered defendant’s testimony that he was driving within the speed limit and, even if defendant was going the speed limit, a jury could find that he was negligent if he failed to stop in time
- Maine Superior Court: The court granted motion for attachment of $75,000 in claim arising out of unlawful sexual contact
- Maine Superior Court: In granting summary judgment for defendant in negligence action in which decedent was found at the bottom of stairs that plaintiff’s expert testified were defective, the court found insufficient evidence (there were no eyewitnesses) that the defects proximately caused the fall
- Maine Superior Court: In awarding reinstatement to her former position and back pay of $1823.44 in case in which jury found plaintiff was fired in violation of Whistleblowers’ Protection Act but awarded no damages, the court rejected plaintiff’s argument that she should have a different supervisor because she did not show that she would be treated with hostility by her former supervisor
- Maine Superior Court: In denying plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in medical malpractice claim, the court found that there were conflicting expert opinions on the applicable standard of care and noted (but did not find determinative) the admissibility of the Maine Health Security Act panel findings in defendant’s favor
- Maine Legislature: LD 921 would create a right to a leave of absence for employees who are victims of violence and prohibit employment discrimination against them
- Maine Legislature: LD 872 would create a commission to study training and certification requirements of service animals and methods of disseminating information about them to the public
- MHRC: March 23rd Agenda and Consent Agenda posted
- Bangor Daily: Muslim suing Bath Iron Works for discrimination drops 3 of 5 complaints
What It Takes To Prove Discrimination
by John P. Gause, Esq. Published: Maine LAWYERS REVIEW, January 23, 2014 Reviewing hundreds of Investigator’s Reports and supporting files at the Maine Human Rights Commission starts to give you a pretty good idea of what it takes to prove unlawful discrimination. And I am not talking about abstract legal theories. I am referring to … Continued
What I Learned From Working at the Commission
by John Gause, Esq. Published: Maine LAWYERS REVIEW, December 12, 2013 As I reenter private practice after eight years working as the Commission Counsel at the Maine Human Rights Commission there are a few things I will carry with me that I wanted to share. My private practice will, in part, include handling cases before … Continued
Framing The Retaliation Claim
by John Gause, Esq. Published: Maine LAWYERS REVIEW, April 8, 2010, Imagine spending four days in trial in a disability retaliation case and winning $300,000, only to have it taken away because the anti-retaliation provision in the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) turns out not to allow the recovery of compensatory and punitive damages. Or … Continued
Gross Implications
by John Gause, Esq. November 5, 2009, Maine LAWYERS REVIEW Imagine if two people shoot and kill someone but neither were guilty of murder or manslaughter because the victim would have died from either bullet. Or if three people push a boulder off a cliff onto someone below but none is legally responsible because any … Continued
On The Road to Recovery
by John Gause, Esq. Published: Maine LAWYERS REVIEW, July 2, 2009 Congratulations, you won your case. The corner office denied it, but the jury found that your client was fired because of his Arab descent. The verdict: $1.1 million in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. But how much of that does your client … Continued
Employment Law: Intermittent Medical Leave
by John Gause, Esq. July 7, 2005, Maine LAWYERS REVIEW The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) provides generous protection to workers who need to take intermittent time off from work due to chronic serious health conditions. Even employees who need to take an unpredictable hour off at a time can be protected by the … Continued
Stanley v. Hancock County Commissioners
by John Gause, Esq. April 7, 2005, Maine LAWYERS REVIEW In a recent Whistleblowers’ Protection Act claim decided by a divided Law Court,Stanley v. Hancock County Commissioners, plaintiff tried a somewhat different approach when responding to defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Instead of citing record authority to deny some of the defendants’ statements of material … Continued
Desert Palace Renders McDonnell Douglas Obsolete
by John Gause, Esq. Published: Maine LAWYERS REVIEW, November 25, 2004 My last article on the Supreme Court decision Desert Palace v. Costa focused on whether Desert Palace applies beyond traditional “mixed-motive” cases. I concluded that the soundest approach was to apply Desert Palace, at a minimum, whenever sufficient evidence is present for a jury … Continued
