Definition of Gender Discrimination Expanded

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (the Federal Appeals Court which includes Michigan) recently reviewed the firing of a male funeral home director transitioning to female. Ms. Stephens was fired after she advised the funeral home owner, Mr. Rost, that she was intending to live as a woman including utilizing a female name, dressing in women’s clothing and using the women’s restroom. Litigation was filed against the funeral home by […]

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Cautionary Tale – Employee’s Profanity Laced Facebook Post is Protected Activity in a Recent Federal Court Decision

On April 21, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of appeals in NLRB v. Pier Sixty, LLC, 855 F.3d 115 (2nd Cir. 2017), upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s conclusion that a terminated employee’s profanity based comments about his supervisor on Facebook were not so egregious as to exceed protection under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act). Pier Sixty operates a catering company in New York City.  In 2011, […]

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Supreme Court Opinion Released: Fry, IDEA, FAPE and Administrative Remedies

A school district refuses to allow the service dog of a student with disabilities into the classroom because the student was assigned a one-on-one instructional aide by the school district, rendering the service dog superfluous. The parents remove their child from the school district and ultimately sue the school district and the school’s principal for violations of Title II of the American’s With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of […]

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Grant Obtains Dismissals on behalf of Judge and Prosecutor

Greg Grant, an attorney in our Traverse City office, recently obtained dismissals on behalf of a Northern Michigan judge and prosecutor in two separate civil rights cases. In both cases, the courts awarded his clients all of their attorney fees and costs. Mr. Grant aggressively defends judges, attorneys, and municipalities as a regular part of his practice. Greg Grant focuses his practice on municipal law, employment and labor law, insurance defense, […]

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Sixth Circuit Reinforces the Importance of Protecting the Identities of Confidential Informants

In Nelson v. City of Madison Heights, et al., while conducting a narcotics investigation at a motel police walked by the room of Shelly Hilliard (“Hilliard”) and spotted a bag of marijuana through the window. After obtaining her consent to enter the room, police found the bag of marijuana. In order to avoid arrest, Hilliard offered to call her drug dealer and order drugs from him. Hilliard signed a confidential […]

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Grant Obtains a No Cause of Action Verdict in Federal Court

Greg Grant of the Traverse City office recently obtained a no cause of action verdict in an excessive force trial in federal court.  Mr. Grant represented four corrections officers whom the plaintiff alleged used excessive force against him while he was inmate in a Michigan county jail.  Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that he was maced twice and tasered twice while locked in his cell. The evidence at trial demonstrated that […]

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Cross Obtains Favorable Arbitration Award for Concert Promoter

After a prolonged dispute, Matt Cross obtained an arbitration award for a valued client, a Detroit-based concert promoter.  The promoter paid the producer of the show a $40,000 deposit in five installments to perform its show in Detroit last year.  The producer pulled out last minute and refused to return the promoter’s deposit, citing the promoter’s failure to timely pay two of the five scheduled payments.  Mr. Cross convinced the […]

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The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Expands an Employer’s Defenses to a Claim of Discrimination

In the case of Richardson v Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which includes the state of Michigan, interpreted, clarified and enlarged the defendant employer’s defense to a claim of age discrimination under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The Court of Appeals confirmed that the 62-year old plaintiff, Richardson, failed to offer either direct or indirect evidence that her job was terminated based […]

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Physical Disabilities in a Virtual World

Businesses and public entities who routinely utilize their website to conduct business should be aware that there has been a steady increase in the number of lawsuits filed by disabled customers who cannot access websites.  The complaints have ranged from websites that could not be navigated without a mouse, websites disabling or otherwise making it difficult for accessibility software on the site visitor’s own computer to make full use of […]

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Sixth Circuit Holds Dismissal of Firefighter’s Retaliation Complaint

On June 22, 2016, the Sixth District Court of Appeals unanimously issued a decision and order affirming the United States District Court’s dismissal of a firefighter’s two count retaliation complaint against a local municipality, four former and current Trustees, and the Fire Chief. Plaintiff, who is of Asian descent, submitted an application for the vacant Fire Chief position to the township Board of Trustees. During an open board meeting on […]

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