In King v. McMillan, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict and the court’s rulings in a sexual harassment case. The plaintiff, a former deputy in a sheriff’s office, had been sexually harassed by the sheriff over several years. A jury awarded her compensatory and punitive damages on her claims of battery and sexual harassment under Title […]
Case Commentary
NC Court of Appeals’ latest decisions on workers’ compensation and personal injuries
Last week, the North Carolina Court of Appeals published four opinions in workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. In Berardi v. Craven County Schools, the Court considered and described the Industrial Commission’s new process for expedited medical motions, which speed up resolution of medical treatment disputes in workers’ compensation cases. At issue was whether the employer […]
Recent NC COA workers’ compensation decisions
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently issued several workers’ compensation opinions, though they were all unpublished and did not break any new ground. In Pope v. Johns Manville, the Court upheld the Industrial Commission’s decision that the plaintiff had developed asbestosis from asbestos exposure during the 50’s and 60’s, that the testimony of plaintiff’s rebuttal […]
Recent Fourth Circuit labor and employment decisions
The Fourth Circuit has published opinions in three labor and employment cases in recent weeks. The first case, Sepulveda v. Allen Family Foods, Inc., concerned a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action that was brought on behalf of a class of current and former employees of a chicken processing plant. The employees claimed, among other things, […]
Latest Court of Appeals opinion on workers’ compensation
Just a few days before Christmas, the Court of Appeals published another set of decisions. Barrett v. All Payment Services is workers’ comp case that deals with an injured stuntman. The plaintiff worked as a professional stuntman, and in 1993 he injured his back while performing a car jump stunt on the set of a television series […]
Supreme Court affirms COA on employment at will case
In Franco v. Lipposcience, Inc., the North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed per curiam an NC Court of Appeals decision regarding employment at will. The COA had issued a split-decision earlier this year, with Judge Wynn writing for the majority and Judge Erwin dissenting. The plaintiff, who had been the VP of Marketing, was terminated and sought to […]