Workers Compensation ~ Occupational Safety and Disease *Gielissen v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (10th Cir., October 7, 2022) (affirming Reliance Standard’s decision to terminate benefits: Reliance Standard properly relied on the evidence of the surveillance videos to determine that Gielissen was no longer restricted from performing any occupation) *Cases marked with an asterisk are […]
Discrimination ~ Retaliation *Barker v. Utah Department of Environmental Quality (10th Cir., January 28, 2022) (affirming dismissal Barker’s complaint for retaliation against her because of her earlier, settled lawsuit from 2015: Barker failed to name the DEQ as the defendant in her amended complaint, did not timely file her discrimination charge with the EEOC, and […]
ERISA and Employee Pension Plans Babcock v. Kijakazi (U.S., January 13, 2022) (affirming determination that Babcock’s retirement benefits should be reduced (a “windfall elimination”) to reflect his receipt of both a civil-service pension and military pension payments for his work as a dual-status National Guard technician: Civil-service pension payments based on employment as a dual-status […]
Discrimination~Retaliation *Hill v. SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc. (10th Cir., September 21, 2021) (reversing summary judgment in favor of SER on Hill’s employment discrimination and retaliation claims: although SER claimed Hill was not an employee, the record was inconclusive for purposes of Title VII; the matter was remanded for determination) ERISA and Employee Pension […]
Discrimination ~ Retaliation *Davis v. State of Utah (10th Cir., September 2, 2021) (affirming dismissal of plaintiffs’ employment-related claims against Utah and the University of Utah: plaintiffs’ First-Amendment allegations failed to overcome their qualified-immunity burden, and plaintiffs’ state-law claims were untimely) *Guy v. McDonough (10th Cir., August 30, 2021) (affirming summary judgment in favor of […]
Discrimination ~ Retaliation Duda v. Elder (10th Cir., July 27, 2021) (affirming denial of qualified immunity to Sheriff Elder on Duda’s retaliation claim: the sheriff fired Deputy Duda for violating “a neutral policy prohibiting on-duty political activity,” but he did not apply it neutrally: he allowed political activity in his favor but fired Duda when […]
ERISA & Employee Pension Plans Ramps v. Banner Health (10th Cir., June 11, 2021) (affirming district court calculation of damages, denial of injunction, and judgment in favor of Banner on plaintiffs’ prohibited transaction claim: plaintiffs’ damages calculations were improperly vague; they failed to make a showing that injunctive or equitable relief was appropriate; and ERISA […]
Contract ~ Noncompete ~ Trade Secret ~ Wrongful Termination *Williams v. United States (10th Cir., April 22, 2021) (dismissing Williams’ appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction: Williams raised no nonfrivolous argument for reversal of the the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the United States on his claims for tortious interference […]
ERISA and Employee Pension Plans *Retired Public Employees of New Mexico, Inc. v. Probst (10th Cir., April 6, 2021) (affirming summary judgment in favor of Probst on their Section 1983 procedural and substantive due process claims: the federal claims against Probst and Pittard (the other defendant) were subject to dismissal based on the 11th Amendment) […]
ERISA and Employee Pension Plans *Festini-Steele v. Exxonmobil Corp. (10th Cir., February 18, 2021) (Reversing lower court determination that divorce decree was not a qualified domestic relations order, and that Festini-Steele was therefore not entitled to the proceeds of her ex-husband’s group life insurance policy: the order was plainly a QDRO and thus exempt from […]
