Catagory:Case Summaries

Steadfast Ins. Co. v. Purdue Frederick Co., et al., 2005 WL 2433042 (Conn. Super. Ct. Sept. 7, 2005) (Unpublished)

In 2004, Purdue Frederick Co. (“Purdue”) produced email in connection with this difficult and document intensive insurance coverage dispute. About nine months following this production, Steadfast Ins. Co. (“Steadfast”) filed and served an affidavit opposing a motion for partial summary judgment which used this email in an exhibit. Purdue then gave notice that the email had been inadvertently produced and filed a motion seeking relief. Read More

Serra Chevrolet, Inc. v. General Motors Corp., No. CV-01-VEH-2682-S (N.D. Ala. May 20, 2005) (Order Granting Motion for Sanctions)

Serra Chevrolet, Inc. (“Serra”) filed a complaint against General Motors Corp. (“GM”) on October 23, 2001. Allegations in this case include claims that GM improperly awarded an additional dealership to Serra’s chief competitor, Edwards Chevrolet, and unduly restricted Serra’s allocation of vehicles. Read More

Williams v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., 230 F.R.D. 640 (D. Kan. 2005)

Shirley Williams sued Sprint/United Management Company in a collective action asserting that age was a determining factor in Defendant’s decision to terminate employment in connection with a reduction-in-force (“RIF”). Regular discovery conferences were held with Magistrate Judge Waxse, who entered orders in this decision concerning Defendant’s production of electronic spreadsheets. Read More

Fenster Family Patient Holdings, Inc. v. Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., 2005 WL 2304190 (D.Del. Sept. 20, 2005)

Fenster Family Patient Holdings, Inc. and others (collectively “Fenster”) filed this lawsuit alleging infringement of various patents by Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. and other Siemens entities (collectively “Siemens”). The patents were issued in connection with Digital Angiography and Digital Fluoroscopy (“DF”) technology. The Court addressed a number of motions in this opinion, including a renewed motion for access to Siemens’ Intranet. Read More

Menke v. Broward County Sch. Bd., 916 So. 2d 8 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2005)

David Menke (“Menke”) is a high school teacher who was suspended for alleged misconduct. Allegations included claims that he had exchanged sexually-explicit emails with minor students and made derogatory comments about school personnel and operations with students. Menke requested a formal hearing, and in the proceedings the Broward County School Board (the “Board”) sought inspection of Menke’s home computers by its expert in the expert’s laboratory. Menke objected, but the administrative law judge granted the Board’s motion to compel production of the computers. Read More

Martino, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 908 So.2d 342 (Fla. 2005)

Ronna Martino (“Martino”) sued Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (“Wal-Mart”) alleging that she suffered injury in March 1997 when the shopping cart she was using collapsed. Plaintiff claims that the injury occurred when a cashier, who was ringing up goods for purchase, asked Martino to lift 40 pound bags of salt so that price codes could be scanned. Martino allegedly placed a bag on top of the cart, which collapsed causing injury to her arm. Read More

Rousseau v. Echosphere Corp., 2005 WL 2176839 (W.D. Pa. Aug. 30, 2005)

Charles A. Lamberton (“Lamberton”) represented Thomas R. Rousseau (“Rousseau”) in an action alleging retaliatory termination by Echosphere Corporation (“Echosphere”). The termination was allegedly due to Rousseau’s filing of a workers’ compensation claim and his having requested a workplace accommodation. Plaintiff claimed that Echosphere’s proffered reason for the termination, that Rousseau had knowingly falsified company documents by providing two different social security numbers, was merely a pretext for unlawful termination. Read More

Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Equity Financial Group, LLC, et al., 2005 WL 2205789 (D.N.J. Sept. 9, 2005)

In April 2004, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) filed an enforcement action against Equity Financial Group, LLC (“Equity”) and others alleging fraud in connection with the solicitation of commodity pool participation interests in Shasta Capital Associates, LLC (“Shasta”). Tech Traders, Inc. (“Tech Traders”), which traded Shasta’s funds, and Robert W. Shimer, counsel for Equity and Shasta, were charged with regulatory violations. Tech Traders allegedly traded Shasta funds in its own name and lost money for this hedge fund rather than making the “astonishing returns” claimed by Equity. Read More

Liggett v. Rumsfeld, 2005 WL 2099782 (E.D.Va. Aug. 29, 2005)

William Liggett (“Liggett”), an information technology specialist working for the United States Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency (“DLA”) sued Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (“Rumsfeld”) alleging discrimination based on race, a hostile work environment, and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Read More

Shank v. Kitsap County, et al., 2005 WL 2099793 (W.D.Wash. Aug. 30, 2005)

Charles Shank (“Shank”) sued Kitsap County, a Washington State Municipal Corporation, and several individuals (collectively “Kitsap”) in connection with alleged employment-related violations under 42 USC �� 1983. Claims included: failure to receive a pay raise, hostile work environment, and failure to receive a promotion. Read More