Cases — July 9th through 15th

Contract/Noncompete/Trade Secret/Wrongful Termination

*Puckett v. US Dept. of Agriculture (10th Cir., July 10, 2017) (affirming summary judgment in defendant’s favor:  Puckett failed to demonstrate that her termination was arbitrary and capricious or that the reason for it was lacking in substantial evidence)


*Ellison v. Roosevelt County Board of County Commissioners (10th Cir., July 12, 2017) (affirming magistrate’s 12(b)(6) dismissal of Ellison’s claim he was fired for arresting his supervisor’s friend, reporting misconduct, and refusing to cover up wrongdoing:  his complaint failed to state a plausible claim for relief)


Discrimination/Retaliation

*Jara v. Standard Parking (10th Cir., July 13, 2017) (affirming 12(b)(6) dismissal of Jara’s claims because he failed to timely file on his discrimination claim or to allege sufficient facts on his retaliation claim)

Labor Unions

*Jara v. Standard Parking (10th Cir., July 13, 2017) (affirming 12(b)(6) dismissal of Jara’s claims because he alleged no facts suggesting the Union acted in such a discriminatory, dishonest, arbitrary, or perfunctory fashion as to breach its duty of fair representation)

Workers Compensation/Occupational Safety and Disease

*Scott v. Berryhill (10th Cir., July 10, 2017) (affirming denial of social security benefits because, while Scott suffered from severe impairments, she retained the residual capacity to perform light work)


*Olson v. Berryhill (10th Cir., July 10, 2017) (affirming denial of benefits because Olson still had residual capacity for light work despite cervical fractures, degenerative disc disease, obesity, bilateral hearing loss, and joint degeneration)

*Cases marked with an asterisk are cases the 10th Circuit does not consider binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. They may be cited, however, for persuasive value under Fed.R.App.P. 32.1 and 10th Cir.R. 32.1.