By Gerald L. Maatman Jr. and Howard M. Wexler

In employment litigation, like in any other lawsuit, the duty to preserve potentially relevant information and documents is an affirmative obligation that is triggered when the party who has the evidence knows that litigation is probable and can foresee the harm or prejudice that would be caused to the party seeking
Continue Reading EEOC Hit With Spoliation Sanctions For Conduct Constituting “Negligence, If Not Gross Negligence”

By Gerald L. Maatman Jr. and Howard M. Wexler

On October 7, 2013 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a district court’s award of $751,942.48 against the EEOC in the case of EEOC v. Peoplemark, Inc., No. 11-2582 (6th Cir. Oct. 7, 2013). This decision marks yet another significant win for employers faced with the
Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Upholds Big Fee Award Against EEOC For Continuing To Pursue Lawsuit Based On A “Companywide Policy That Did Not Exist”

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Howard M. Wexler

With the recent recognition by the American Medical Association that obesity is a disease (and not just a medical condition), courts around the country have begun to formulate their position as to whether (and to what extent) obesity is covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The EEOC’s regulations state that
Continue Reading “Weight” Of Authority Leads To Dismissal (And Sanctions) Based On “Frivolous” Disparate Impact Claim

By Gerald L Maatman Jr. and Howard M. Wexler

In a highly anticipated decision issued yesterday in one of the EEOC’s most high profile cases, Chief Judge Linda R. Reade of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa ordered the EEOC to pay $4,694,442.14 in attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs in the case of EEOC v. CRST
Continue Reading Time To Pay Up! EEOC Ordered To Pay $4.694 Million In Fees And Costs For Pursuing “Unreasonable” And “Groundless” Claims

tug-of-war.jpgBy Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Rebecca Bjork

In EEOC v. Freeman, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179183, at *6 (D. Md. Dec. 19, 2012), Magistrate Judge Day of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland noted that “there simply is no more aggravating action than a lawyer improperly instructing a deponent not to answer a question.” Nevertheless, in

Continue Reading The EEOC Wins A Round In Its Discovery Tug-Of-War In EEOC v. Freeman

Thumbnail image for SupremeCourt.jpgBy Christopher DeGroff and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

The explosive ruling in EEOC v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., 670 F.3d 897 (8th Cir. 2012), in which the Eighth Circuit reversed and remanded the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa’s order that sanctioned the EEOC a whopping $4.5 million, is easily a contender for our “Top 5

Continue Reading The EEOC Declines To Ask The Supreme Court To Hear EEOC v. CRST

250px-US-CourtOfAppeals-10thCircuit-Seal.pngBy Christopher DeGroff and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

This past week the Tenth Circuit affirmed another fee sanction against the EEOC, and struck down the EEOC’s attempt to litigate questionable (at best) issues under the Americans With Disabilities Act in EEOC v. TriCore Reference Laboratories, No. 11-CV-2096 (10th Cir. 2012). The Tenth Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for

Continue Reading Tenth Circuit Rejects Another EEOC Lawsuit And Affirms $140,571.62 In Attorneys’ Fees For The EEOC’s “Frivolous” Lawsuit

ed washington.bmpBy Chris Palamountain and Brian Wong

A few months ago, we wrote about an interim decision in Plumbers Union Local No. 12 Pension Fund v. Ambassadors Group Inc., No. CV-09-214-JLQ, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26232 (E.D. Wash. Feb. 28, 2012), in which Judge Quackenbush of the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington was contemplating disciplinary action against class

Continue Reading Wine and Roses, Part II: District Court Initiates Disciplinary Proceedings Following Class Counsel’s Improper Expense Requests