The Quest for Class Certification
October 01, 2003
Last month, we introduced our primer on the "leniency" standard for FLSA actions, and its interplay with Rule 23 guidelines. We called the quest for class certification "the most feared battle waged in litigation," and went on to explain that if well-regarded class action practitioners were surveyed, there would almost assuredly be a consensus that the quest for class certification is exactly that to a targeted defendant.We discussed the FLSA's opt-in burden, and the liberal standard in our previous article. This month, we address the seemingly irreconcilable approaches taken by some courts.
The Wagoner Doctrine Keeps Rolling
October 01, 2003
A truism of bankruptcy is that assets available to pay creditors are few and far between. Among them are causes of action, and thus both debtors and trustees rightly hoard the right to sue third parties. Does the debtor or trustee have standing to sue when the entity brought the harm upon itself? Generally, the answer is no, and thus in this present environment of corporate misdeeds and scandals, litigation against outsiders is foreclosed by the debtor's own misfeasance.
The <i>Horn</i> Decision: Significant Victory for Employers
September 19, 2003
New York's Court of Appeals recently issued an important decision in which it declined to expand the narrow exception to the 'at-will' employment doctrine enunciated in <i>Wieder v. Skala</i> for attorneys to physicians employed by non-medical employers. The court's decision in <i>Horn</i>, however, arguably is limited to that particular class of physicians whose duties are not limited to providing medical treatment, but include non-medical-related management responsibilities as well. Consequently, the court will likely be faced with future attempts by professionals, including physicians employed by medical employers, to expand the Wieder doctrine to them.
Understanding the ADA's 'Reassignment' Obligation
September 19, 2003
One of the most controversial questions since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) has been whether an employer must reassign an employee who can no longer perform his or her job because of a disability. After years of conflicting decisions and arguments, the answer is now easy ' yes.
Selling the Marital Residence: What Are the Tax Implications?
September 04, 2003
The marital residence is frequently the most valuable asset found in most divorce cases. Issues of valuation, possession and sale will all involve tax implications. The residence may include a houseboat, a house trailer or the house or apartment that the taxpayer is entitled to occupy as a tenant-stockholder in a cooperative housing corporation. It does not include personal property that is not a fixture. Treas.Reg. '1.121-1(b). Any gain represented by the difference between the present market value or sales price and the adjusted basis will have tax consequences.
