What’s at Stake Corporations should not be allowed to use contracts about one thing to prevent lawsuits about a totally different thing, nor should they be allowed to use contracts they were never part of in the first place to avoid consequences for breaking the law. Background Ramona Milam was threatened by her mortgage servicer,…
What’s at Stake The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) says that certain classes of workers (such as seamen or transportation workers) cannot be compelled into arbitrating disputes with employers and have their right to sue an employer in court taken away. This case is about preventing the federal courts from compelling those workers into arbitration under…
What’s at stake Protections for pregnant and postpartum students Summary In 2024, the U.S. Department of Education published new Title IX regulations. The regulations covered a range of topics, including the rights of LGBTQ+ students, sexual harassment victims, and pregnant and postpartum students. Protections for this last group included explicit rights to lactation breaks in…
What’s at Stake Whether people who are incarcerated can bring lawsuits without fear of retaliation. If sheriffs are allowed to charge pay-to-stay fees as retaliation for filing a lawsuit, sheriffs may be able to persuade others from bringing those claims. Summary When Michael Wappler brought a lawsuit challenging the conditions at the Brevard County jail,…
What’s at Stake Standing is the legal principle that decides who gets to bring a lawsuit. Typically, a person needs to have been injured by the actions of another to have standing to bring a lawsuit. But in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has narrowed which injuries “count,” allowing more bad behavior to go…
What’s at Stake Corporations that are in the middle of employment lawsuits should not be able get out of litigation by imposing new fine print terms onto the employees that take away their right to sue the employer. Summary In 2022, Bo Avery and his co-workers filed a class action for wage theft against their…
What’s at Stake Preserving municipal liability for systemic prosecutorial misconduct under Section 1983 and Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978), in the Ninth Circuit. Summary Roger Wayne Parker languished in jail for nearly four years for a murder the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office knew he did not commit. During that…
What’s at Stake The FCC has abandoned the “one-to-one consent” rule, which would have prevented a telemarketer from selling consumers’ information to other telemarketers after the consumer consented to be contacted only by that one telemarketer. Details Four small business owners and the National Consumers League asked the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals for permission…
What’s at stake Protections for pregnant and postpartum students Summary In 2024, the U.S. Department of Education published new Title IX regulations. The regulations covered a range of topics, including the rights of LGBTQ+ students, sexual harassment victims, and pregnant and postpartum students. Protections for this last group included explicit rights to lactation breaks in…