Patricia Anne Gaughan — judge journal: record, career & affiliations — IJR

Patricia Anne Gaughan — judge journal: record, career & affiliations — IJR

Decision record

Full record (20) →

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kaplan Higher Education Corp.
District Court, N.D. Ohio · 2011-05-10 · cited 9×
This case involves the EEOC suing Kaplan Higher Education Corporation under Title VII §§706 and 707, alleging a nationwide pattern or practice of race discrimination against black job applicants and employees through the use of credit history checks as a hiring and discharge criterion that had a disparate impact and was not job-related. The defendant moved to partially dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), arguing that claims based on employment decisions made more than 300 days before the underlying charge (before May 2, 2008) were time-barred. The court granted the motion, holding that the filing deadline in §706(e)(1) applies to EEOC pattern-or-practice suits under §707 because §707(e) incorporates §706 procedures, that the continuing violations doctrine does not apply to these discrete acts, and that recovery is therefore limited to timely claims.
labor & employmentcivil rights
Alleman v. YRC
District Court, N.D. Ohio · 2011-04-12 · cited 5×
This case is a personal injury and wrongful death lawsuit brought by Lisa Alleman against trucking company YRC and its driver Robert Trella after her husband Ronald died in a collision with Trella's tractor-trailer on an icy Interstate 90 in Ohio. The plaintiff alleged negligence per se, negligent hiring and supervision by YRC, negligent vehicle maintenance, punitive damages, loss of consortium, pre-impact terror, and wrongful death. The court granted the defendants' motion for partial summary judgment on the claims for negligent hiring/supervision, negligent maintenance, punitive damages, and pre-impact terror. It reasoned that the evidence did not establish conscious wrongdoing or a conscious disregard for safety by the driver or company, as Trella had adjusted his speed, the roads appeared treated until the accident, and no facts showed the required level of awareness of a high probability of substantial harm. The decision applied the summary judgment standard under which no genuine issues of material fact existed on those counts.
torts & liabilityprocedure
Horton v. Warden, Trumbull County Correctional Institution
District Court, N.D. Ohio · 2011-02-10
The case involves a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 filed by Michael Horton, who was convicted after trial of murder and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, and who pled guilty to having a weapon while under disability, resulting in a 25-years-to-life sentence. The district court accepted the magistrate judge's recommendation to grant the petition in part, holding that the state trial court's refusal to instruct the jury on self-defense deprived Horton of due process. The court reasoned that the right to present a complete defense, as recognized in California v. Trombetta and Sixth Circuit precedent, requires a self-defense instruction when supported by sufficient evidence, and here the evidence included testimony that the victim struck Horton with a bottle before he fired. The petition was granted as to the trial convictions, remanding for a new trial on those charges, but denied as to the guilty-plea conviction.
criminal lawprocedure
Ward v. County of Cuyahoga
District Court, N.D. Ohio · 2010-06-29 · cited 15×
Bailey v. CITY OF BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, OHIO
District Court, N.D. Ohio · 2010-06-14 · cited 3×
Westmoreland v. Sutherland
District Court, N.D. Ohio · 2010-06-11 · cited 1×