Tenth Circuit: College Decision to Discharge Chief Information Officer for Criticizing Contractor Not Violation of First Amendment

In Sarkar v. McCallin, the Tenth Circuit affirmed a trial court’s decision to dismiss a case that a Chief Information Officer brought against his former employer.  The CIO argued, among other things, that he was dismissed for exercising his First Amendment rights in complaining about the contract performance of one of the computer software vendors providing services […]

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Utah Supreme Court: Mayor Exonerated in Criminal Trial Is Entitled to Reimbursement for Attorney Fees

On February 18, 2011, the Utah Supreme Court upheld a trial court’s ruling that a mayor who had been charged with criminal conduct could bring a claim against the city in which he served for reimbursement for his attorney fees based on the Utah Reimbursement Statute, Utah Code Ann. Section 52-6-201(1), when he was found not […]

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Tenth Circuit: Not Unreasonable to Send Employee Home to Establish Ability to Continue Working When Employer is Ignorant of Disease Disclosed by Employee

In Fryer v. Coil Tubing Services, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s decision dismissing an employee’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim. In this case, the employee disclosed to his employer that he suffered from Hepatitis C. The human resource manager he discussed the disease with admitted she was unaware of […]

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January Was A Busy Month for the Courts!

As you have probably noticed, it has been a long time since I posted anything on my blog.  Please excuse me for failing to do so.  From December 23rd to February 7th was an exceptionally busy time for me.  It included year-end partner meetings, a trial, and deposition preparations. In any event, in the approximate six […]

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Tenth Circuit: Jury Got It Right—Charter School Did Not Violate Teacher’s Right When It Banned Gossip and Discussions about School

In Dillon v. Twin Peaks Charter Academy, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict against a teacher’s claims of violation of her free speech and association rights by a charter school.  The teacher claimed that the charter school’s ban on gossip and command “forbidding teachers from discussing school matters outside of school” […]

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Tenth Circuit: No Claim When Deputy Quit Rather than Accept Reassignment

In Lauck v. Campbell County, the Tenth Circuit upheld a district court’s ruling that dismissed a case against a sheriff’s department brought by a deputy after he was reassigned to the Civil Process Division.  Although the deputy claimed that his reassignment constituted a demotion, because his pay and rank were the same before the transfer, […]

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