In the December Issue:
| Former Faculty Member Seeks New Trial in Political Discrimination Suit by Andrew D. Moran A closely-watched discrimination suit in Iowa may have ended in a mistrial, but may lead to an expansion of employer liability based on political viewpoint discrimination. Teresa Wagner, a University of Iowa faculty member, sued Carolyn Jones, the former dean of the University of Iowa College of Law. Wagner’s lawsuit, filed in 2009, alleged that she was the victim of political discrimination and was denied equal protection under the law when the university denied her a full-time teaching position because of her conservative political views and her work with certain conservative groups that oppose same sex marriage rights and abortion.. To read more, click here. |
Minnesota Court of Appeals Allows Uncollectible Damages Award to be Reallocated to Severally Liable Co-Defendants by Melissa Hagstrum Bayne The Minnesota Court of Appeals’ decision in O’Brien v. Dombeck, Case No. A12-0984, published December 3, 2012, marks the first time in the nearly ten years since the Minnesota legislature modified Minnesota’s joint and several liability statute that Minnesota courts have spoken on the ambiguous relationship between the statute’s joint and several liability requirements and the provision allowing reallocation of uncollectible amounts. Under this decision, uncollectible amounts may be reallocated to other parties without regard to whether they are jointly liable. To read more, click here. | Business Litigation Department Attorneys: | | |