U.S. v. Arizona
Arizona judge enjoins enforcement of a new immigration law's requirement that police determine the immigration status of
every person who is arrested.
McGuire v. United Airlines
Michigan woman says a United Express flight crew locked her in a plane for nearly four hours after it landed because they failed to ensure that all passengers had disembarked.
R.H. v. Schenectady Sch. Dist.
Middle school student says he was suspended for wearing rosary beads because the rosary "is considered a gang-related symbol" and cannot be worn in school.
Fields v. Smith
Judge strikes down a law that bars transgender prison inmates from receiving hormone therapy at taxpayers' expense, finding it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
lc_search
LC_DayByDay

 Jun   July 10   Aug

SMTWTFS
   1  2  3
  4  5  6  7  8  910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
Julianna Willis Technology
LC_BySubject
OnTheMap

rss

LC_ExtraPoints

• Iowa judge says a sheriff denied the applications of a father and son for concealed weapons permits in retaliation for their political activism. "This is a great reminder that the First Amendment protects the sole individual who may be a gadfly, kook, weirdo, nut job, whacko, and spook, with the same force of protection as folks with more majoritarian and popular views." Dorr v. Weber

• 5th Circuit rules that a school district violated the religious freedom of a Native American boy by requiring him to wear his long hair in a bun on top of his head or in a braid tucked into his shirt. The boy "has a sincere religious belief in wearing his hair uncut and in plain view."
A.A. v. Needville Ind. Sch. Dist.

• 11th Circuit denies a challenge to an ordinance restricting handouts of food to the homeless in Orlando parks. "[W]e are unpersuaded that the conduct of simply feeding people ... is expressive for First Amendment purposes."
First Vagabonds Church v. City of Orlando

• Boston judge slashes a jury award in an illegal music downloading case from $675,000 to $67,500. "The award in this case ... lacks any rational foundation and smacks of arbitrariness." Sony v. Tenenbaum

• Iowa Supreme Court suspends a voyeuristic attorney indefinitely for peeping on women through windows. "[W]e cannot overlook the serious, egregious, and persistent nature of [Mark] Templeton’s misconduct and the effect it had on his victims."
Disciplinary Board v. Templeton

• Pennsylvania judge strikes down the state's blasphemy law in a case brought by a film producer who wanted to name his company "I Choose Hell Productions." "'Choosing hell' may be an irreverent choice for a corporate name, but under the Constitution, this fact alone cannot be the basis for its suppression from the public debate." Kalman v. Cortes

• Cancer patient sues Wal-Mart for firing him after discovering that he uses medical marijuana for pain relief. "[N]o corporation doing business in Michigan should be permitted to flout state laws protecting patients who use medical marihuana in accordance with state law." Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores

• 11th Circuit rules that the operator of an Internet porn dorm was engaged in illegally operating a business in a residential zone. "Business objectives are the sole reason individuals are paid to live and engage in sexual activities at the 27th Street residence."
Flava Works v. City of Miami




Alltop_125x125.jpg

ADVERT

Free no win no fee claims advice for personal injury.


ADVERT

For accident claims advice, visit a personal injury lawyer.

Jury Finds No Urination Double Standard on Docks Print

A dock workers' union does not have a double standard for outdoor urination, a Virginia jury has found in rejecting the gender discrimination case of a female worker who was caught relieving herself outdoors.

Sonyo Tillett-Bond, a member of the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1458, sued the union for taking her off an APM Terminals work gang as punishment for what she did on Oct. 5, 2006. Both she and a male co-worker, Tim Jones, had to urinate outdoors at a work site where there were no restroom facilities, but he suffered no consequences.

The “disparate treatment of the Plaintiff ... caus[ed] Plaintiff to endure (a) work conditions not imposed upon a similarly situated male co-worker and; (b) a work environment hostile to her,” Tillett-Bond said in her complaint.

Co-workers allegedly made her the “butt of numerous jokes ... ranging from 'we heard you were caught with your pants down' to statements that there was a bucket and a bed pan with her name on it for using the bathroom to the more cruel accusations of being a 'slut' and 'nasty' for 'pulling her pants down.'”

Much of the online commentary about the case has focused on biology. “Because it is easier for a man to urinate in public does not mean that a woman should be punished for not being equipped with the same anatomy,” a reader of the Virginian-Pilot newspaper said.

But the case was tried only on the narrow issue of whether Local 1458 – which merged last year with Local 1784 -- violated civil rights law in its response to Tillett-Bond's al fresco urination. She settled her claims against APM just before the trial began and was seeking $300,000 in compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages from the union.

After two days of testimony, the jury in Norfolk, Va., ruled this week that the union did not deprive Tillett-Bond of employment opportunities or cause APM to discriminate against her and that her gender was not a “motivating factor” for any action taken by the union.

"Local 1784 did not discriminate against Ms. Tillett-Bond and has done everything it can to protect her rights,” the union's attorney said.

Tillett-Bond and Jones were assigned to yard maintenance in a “very remote” area of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, which is leased by APM. They urinated behind separate containers, thinking they were hidden from view, but a passing trucker saw Tillett-Bond with her pants down and reported her to APM management.

A supervisor informed Local 1458 the next day that APM would no longer have her on its work gang “due to urinating behind the containers.”

Union officials testified that if Tillett-Bond was ever denied work it was because none was available that day or she didn't show up. The defense evidence included records showing officials helped her get back to work through the grievance process.

This story linked by:


By Matthew Heller
3/21/09


 
rc_insidestories
  • Sex Harassment Claims Hit Actor Affleck, 'Bones' Star

    A producer of a film about actor Joaquin Phoenix, an extra on the set of the TV show “Bones,” an assistant property master, and a makeup artist are among the plaintiffs in a recent epidemic of lurid Hollywood lawsuits.
    Read more...
  • Jury Goes 'Wild' in Woman's Privacy Case Over Video

    A Missouri jury has gone wild in a case of involuntary nudity, finding that a woman consented to appearing topless in a “Girls Gone Wild” video by playing to the camera before another person pulled her top down.
    Read more...
  • Actress Facing $750K Award to Therapist

    Soap opera star Hunter Tylo may have to pay more than $750,000 in damages and attorney fees to a psychotherapist whom she sued more than four years ago for negligent treatment of her children, On Point has learned.
    Read more...
  • Reporter Sues Hotels Over Peephole Videos

    In an unusual premises liability case, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews has sued the operators of three hotels for allowing a stalker to surreptitiously videotape her naked through peepholes in the doors to her rooms.
    Read more...
  • Students Challenge Rubber Fetus Ban

    The suspensions of seven pro-life students at two Roswell, N.M., high schools for distributing rubber fetuses have given birth to a lawsuit that takes the First Amendment protections for student speech into uncharted territory.
    Read more...
  • Distress Claim Barred in Hotel 'Ménâge à Trois' Case

    A former employee of a luxury Miami Beach hotel who says her billionaire boss invited her to join him in a “ménâge à trois” cannot sue him for infliction of emotional distress, a judge has ruled, finding his alleged behavior, while “obnoxious,” was not “objectively outrageous.”
    Read more...
  • Chuck E. Cheese Settles Molesting Mascot Suit

    A Missouri woman who claimed a Chuck E. Cheese mascot groped her breast has settled her lawsuit against the operator of the restaurant chain, On Point has learned.
    Read more...
RC_OnFile

Stovell v. James
Subject: LeBron's paternity
Document: Complaint

U.S. v. Arizona
Subject: Illegal immigration
Document: Complaint

Rosenberg v. Google
Subject: Negligent navigation
Document: Complaint

Smith v. Hooters
Subject: Weight discrimination
Document: Complaint

City of Ontario v. Quon
Subject: Text-message privacy
Document: Opinion

more

RC_OnTrial

Rosenberg v. Musical Arts Assn.
Court: Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Common Pleas
Subject: Defamation, age bias

Mecozzi v. City of Los Angeles
Court: L.A. Superior
Subject: Police brutality
Verdict: $1.7 million

more


RC_OnTheDocket

Jose Padilla v. John Yoo
Date: 6/14/10
Court: 9th Circuit
Hearing: Oral arguments in human rights case.

Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Date: 6/16/10
Court: USDC, N. Calif.
Hearing: Closing arguments in trial of challenge to gay marriage ban.

more