Recently in Employment Law Category

In an action against an insurer for coverage of a settlement in a wage and hour lawsuit, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where, by operation of the plain terms of the agreement, plaintiff had no claim for coverage against defendant.

Read Payless ShoeSource, Inc. v. Travelers Cos., Inc., No. 08-3246

Appellate Information

Filed November 10, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Gorsuch

Counsel

For Appellant:

Mark F. Rosenberg, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, NY

For Appellee:

Stephen M. Kerwick, Foulston Siefkin LLP, Wichita, KS

In an ERISA action seeking retroactive pension and savings benefits allegedly owed to plaintiff under two of defendants' employee benefits plans, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where the plan administrator's denial of plaintiff's claim for benefits was not arbitrary or capricious because, inter alia, plaintiff was ineligible for benefits under the Plans as an independent contractor.

Read Scruggs v. ExxonMobil Pension Plan, No. 08-6145

Appellate Information

Filed November 9, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Ebel

Counsel

For Appellant:

Babette Patton, Breathwit & Patton, P.C., Oklahoma City, OK

For Appellees:

Michael S. Beaver and Catherine C. Crane, Holland & Hart LLP, Greenwood Village, CO

In an Americans with Disabilities Act action based on plaintiff's inability to complete a physical safety training program adopted by her employer, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where a job function that is rarely required in the normal course of an employee's duties may nonetheless be an essential job function under the ADA when the potential consequences of employing an individual who is unable to perform the function are sufficiently severe.

Read Hennagir v. Utah Dep't of Corr., No. 08-4087

Appellate Information

Filed September 10, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Lucero

Counsel

For Appellant:

Russell T. Monahan, Cook & Associates, P.C., Salt Lake City, UT

For Appellees:

J. Clifford Peterson, Assistant Utah Attorney General, Salt Lake City, UT

In a Title VII action alleging that Defendant improperly terminated Plaintiff while she was on medical leave, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed in part, where Plaintiff failed to present sufficient evidence of the intent necessary for religious discrimination; but reversed in part, where there were many reasons to question Defendants' evidence regarding the alleged grounds for Plaintiff's termination.

Read DeFreitas v. Horizon Inv. Mgmt. Corp., No. 08-1344

Appellate Information

Filed August 14, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Hartz

Counsel

For Appellant:

Bruce M. Franson, Robert H. Wilde, Attorney at Law, P.C., Midvale, UT

For Appellees:

Lisa Marcy McGarry, Hobbs & Olson, L.C., Salt Lake City, UT

Lincoln W. Hobbs, Hobbs & Olson, L.C., Salt Lake City, UT

In an ERISA action challenging defendant's decision to deny plaintiff long-term disability benefits, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed where defendant: 1) did not rely solely on the evaluations and medical opinions of its own on-site physicians and nurses, and 2) diligently endeavored to discover the nature of plaintiff's ailments.

Read Holcomb v. UNUM Life Ins. Co., No. 08-6183

Appellate Information

Filed August 11, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Tacha

Counsel

For Appellant:

Robert J. Rosati, Fresno, CA

For Appellee:

Phillip G. Whaley, Ryan Whaley Coldiron Shandy PC, Oklahoma City, OK

Patrick M. Ryan, Ryan Whaley Coldiron Shandy PC, Oklahoma City, OK

In an ERISA action claiming that the termination of the membership of plaintiff's employer in defendant's health plan was arbitrary and capricious, judgment for plaintiff is affirmed where: 1) the reinstatement of pension benefits is a permissible equitable remedy under ERISA; and 2) the district court did not err in finding that the termination was a pretext to avoid paying plaintiff's claim.

Read Phelan v. Wyo. Associated Builders, No. 08-8055

Appellate Information

Filed July 31, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge McConnell

Counsel

For Appellant:

Timothy M. Stubson, Brown, Drew & Massey, LLP, Casper, WY

For Appellee:

Jessica Rutzick, Rutzick Law Office, Jackson, WY

In an ERISA action claiming that a health plan administrator failed to assure adequate funding of the plan to pay all submitted medical claims, judgment for defendant is affirmed where plaintiff failed to establish that it was more likely than not that defendant's breaches caused the under-funding of the plan.

Read Holdeman v. Devine, No. 07-4235

Appellate Information

Filed July 21, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Ebel

Counsel

For Appellant:

Brian S. King, Salt Lake City, UT

For Appellee:

Michael W. Homer, Suitter Axland, PLLC, Salt Lake City, UT

Carl F. Huefner, Suitter Axland, PLLC, Salt Lake City, UT

In an ERISA action challenging certain amendments to an employee benefit plan that purported to eliminate a "pensioner death benefit," summary judgment for Defendants is affirmed, where the benefit did not constitute a "retirement-type subsidy" for purposes of ERISA's anti-cutback provision.

Read Kerber v. Qwest Pension Plan, No. 08-1387

Appellate Information

Filed July 17, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Briscoe

Counsel

For Appellants:

Curtis L. Kennedy, Denver, CO

For Appellees:

John Houston Pope, Epstein, Becker & Green, P.C., New York, NY

Elizabeth I. Kiovsky, Baird & Kiovsky, LLC, Denver, CO

In an action claiming that Plaintiff police officer was discharged without adequate procedural safeguards after he suffered from a psychiatric episode that caused him to take administrative leave, the denial of qualified immunity is reversed, where the city's three-step appeals process provided adequate pretermination due process for Plaintiff to challenge the decision.

Read Riggins v. Goodman, No. 08-1034

Appellate Information

Filed July 10, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Tymkovich

Counsel

For Appellants:

John R. Mann, Kennedy Childs & Fogg, P.C., Denver, CO

For Appellee:

Joseph A. Salazar, The Salazar Consultant Group, LLC, Thornton, CO

In an action alleging that Defendant wrongfully discharged Plaintiff because he reported illegal and unethical conduct on the part of fellow contractors, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed, where Virginia had the strongest connection to the dispute, and thus Virginia law applied and barred Plaintiff's wrongful discharge claim.

Read Boone v. MVM, Inc., No. 08-1074

Appellate Information

Filed July 9, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Judge Murphy

Counsel

For Appellant:

Thomas H. Stocker, Thomas H. Stocker, P.C., Lakewood, CO

For Appellee:

Jason M. Branciforte, Littler Mendelson, P.C., Washington, DC