Railroad Worker’s Retaliation Claims For Refusing To Fabricate Safety Violations Proceed To Jury
Posted on Aug 13, 2014 in Litigation, Transportation | Comments Off on Railroad Worker’s Retaliation Claims For Refusing To Fabricate Safety Violations Proceed To Jury
The anti-retaliation provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act are fairly recent additions to the statute and contain, on their face, a lighter causation standard than other employment retaliation statutes. They provide that a “railroad carrier … may not discharge, demote, suspend, reprimand, or in any other way discriminate against an employee if such discrimination is due, in...
California Court Provides Guidance On “Point Of Operation Guard” Exception Under Workers’ Compensation Law
Posted on Aug 9, 2014 in Construction, Litigation | Comments Off on California Court Provides Guidance On “Point Of Operation Guard” Exception Under Workers’ Compensation Law
A California appellate court dismissed an action brought under a state law exception to the workers’ compensation exclusivity rule, by which an employee may sue his employer if he was “injured as a result of the employer’s knowing removal of, or knowing failure to install, a point of operation guard on a power press.” The dismissal further defined a “point of operation guard” under...
Case Against Landfill Operator Involving Waste From January Chemical Leak In West Virginia Proceeds
Posted on Aug 7, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation | Comments Off on Case Against Landfill Operator Involving Waste From January Chemical Leak In West Virginia Proceeds
The chemical leak that contaminated the drinking water for thousands of residents around Charleston, West Virginia in January continues to spring new litigation despite the owner of the storage site having filed for bankruptcy. One of the nearby county commissions and a town within that county filed suit in May against the operator of a landfill where 228 tons of waste containing the...
Second Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Opinion Allocating Financial Responsibility For April 2006 Texas Train Derailment
Posted on Aug 7, 2014 in Litigation, Transportation | Comments Off on Second Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Opinion Allocating Financial Responsibility For April 2006 Texas Train Derailment
In an April 2006 train derailment near Dallas, much of a train’s cargo, which included tractors, copying machines, and other manufactured goods, was destroyed. The goods were manufactured in Japan, shipped across the Pacific, and loaded onto railcars in California. Following the derailment, the Japanese insurers, who were subrogees of the cargo owners, filed suit against the...
Texas Federal Court Sorts Through Expert Challenges In Insurance Coverage Dispute For Well Blowout
Posted on Aug 5, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Litigation | Comments Off on Texas Federal Court Sorts Through Expert Challenges In Insurance Coverage Dispute For Well Blowout
Following an oil well blowout in Reeves County, Texas in September 2011, the operator sought insurance coverage under a policy providing protection against well blowouts and reimbursement for costs and expenses reasonably incurred in bringing the well under control. When the operator filed its insurance claim for the expenses related to the clean-up and the re-drilling of a...
Second Circuit Finds State Insurance Laws Prohibiting Insurer From Seeking Reimbursement For Medical Benefits Paid In Tort Settlements Not Preempted By ERISA
Posted on Aug 4, 2014 in Litigation | Comments Off on Second Circuit Finds State Insurance Laws Prohibiting Insurer From Seeking Reimbursement For Medical Benefits Paid In Tort Settlements Not Preempted By ERISA
The Second Circuit held that ERISA does not preempt claims against defendant-insurers under a New York state law prohibiting insurers from seeking reimbursement of medical benefits paid in tort settlements. The opinion reversed the district court’s ruling and resulted in the revival of a New York state class action. Specifically, N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-335 provides that a personal...
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