In this case, plaintiffs, including Deborah Prise and Heather Rady along with over 700 opt-in plaintiffs who were nonexempt employees at Alderwoods funeral homes, brought a collective action under the FLSA alleging they were not paid overtime for work performed under five corporate policies, including community work, on-call time, overtime preapproval requirements, training for insurance licenses, and meal breaks. After conditional certification of nine employment positions and extensive discovery involving sample plaintiffs, the defendant moved to decertify the class. The court granted the motion to decertify, holding that the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of showing they were similarly situated because of significant variations in how the policies were applied across different positions, locations, and time periods, as well as individual differences in job duties, compensation practices, and potential defenses like statutes of limitations. The court noted a lack of cohesiveness in the claims and that individualized inquiries would predominate, making collective treatment inappropriate.
The case involved plaintiff Darnella Wilson suing American General Finance and employee Bruce Casteel for defamation as libel per se and intentional infliction of emotional distress under Pennsylvania law, alleging that defendants fabricated and published false statements about her mortgage account being delinquent to the Better Business Bureau and her attorney despite her providing proof of timely payments. Defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings to dismiss both claims, while plaintiff moved to strike certain affirmative defenses. The court granted in part and denied in part the motion for judgment on the pleadings and denied the motion to strike in full. It applied the Twombly/Iqbal plausibility standard to evaluate whether the amended complaint stated viable claims, noting that legal conclusions must be supported by factual allegations and that conditional privilege could apply to some publications but required further analysis. The ruling focused on whether the alleged statements were actionable and whether the IIED claim met the threshold for outrageous conduct.
Shane Stadtmiller, a military veteran with hand and mental health injuries from service in Iraq, sued his former employer UPMC Health Plan after being terminated from a project manager role. He alleged violations of USERRA and Pennsylvania's Military Affairs Act for discrimination based on his National Guard service, as well as claims under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act for failure to accommodate his disabilities and wrongful discharge. The court granted UPMC's motion for summary judgment on all counts. It found that Stadtmiller received performance warnings for incomplete work plans and inability to manage multiple tasks, was provided mentoring, and was terminated for those documented deficiencies. The court concluded there was no evidence that his military obligations or disabilities were the reason for the firing or that the employer's stated performance-based reasons were pretextual.
Marlyn Louise Taliaferro filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) seeking review of the Social Security Administration's denial of disability insurance and supplemental security income benefits based on bipolar disorder and depression. The ALJ concluded that drug and alcohol addiction was a material contributing factor to her disability, a finding supported by medical records from psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities showing substantial improvement in functioning once substance use ceased. The court reviewed the administrative record, including GAF scores, consultative examiner reports, and evidence of the claimant's history of substance abuse, to assess whether the ALJ properly weighed the evidence on the materiality of DAA and the claimant's functional limitations. Two principal issues addressed were the ALJ's rejection of a "marked" limitation noted by the consultative examiner and the allocation of the burden of proof regarding DAA materiality.
In this case, the estate of a locomotive engineer killed in a 2010 train collision sued the Union Railroad under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) and related federal statutes, alleging negligence including defective equipment like an unsafe seat and missing alerter, a malfunctioning radio and signal, inadequate training, dispatcher errors, and delayed emergency response. The district court granted in part and denied in part the railroad's motion to dismiss, dismissing with prejudice claims based on design defects or failure to install equipment because they were preempted by the Locomotive Inspection Act (LIA) and Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA) and thus not actionable under FELA. Claims for failure to properly maintain the radio, a malfunctioning signal, dispatcher negligence, and delayed response survived as they were not preempted and adequately stated under FELA and FRSA. Additional claims for improper training, lack of a second crew member, and certain seat issues were dismissed without prejudice for insufficient factual pleading beyond labels and conclusions.
labor & employmentproceduretorts & liabilityfederal power
In United States v. Tilley, the government filed motions to enforce stipulations in the defendant's plea agreement regarding the loss amount (between $400,000 and $1,000,000) tied to his convictions for mail fraud and wire fraud, claiming the defendant breached the agreement by disputing that amount, seeking to withdraw his plea, and failing to accept responsibility for other charges. The court denied the motions without prejudice, ruling that the defendant would not breach the agreement by presenting evidence of loss amounts for purposes of a sentencing variance under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) or restitution calculations. The core reasoning was that the plea agreement expressly permitted the parties to bring forward new information unknown at the time of execution and placed no limits on evidence related to restitution, while direct challenges to the stipulated loss for guideline purposes would violate its terms.
