Is obesity a disability? Sonya Goodwin’s article in Hunton on Ninth Circuit decision

Ninth Circuit Skirts Issue of Whether Obesity is a Qualifying Disability Under the ADA

By Sonya Goodwin & Emily Burkhardt Vicente on September 5, 2019

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a District Court’s ruling in favor of employer Medtronic, Inc. in a lawsuit alleging Medtronic unlawfully terminated employee Jose Valtierra’s employment because he was morbidly obese, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  In doing so, the Court declined to decide whether morbid obesity is a disability, leaving this issue unsettled in the Ninth Circuit.

Valtierra alleged that Medtronic terminated his employment because he was morbidly obese.  In its Motion for Summary Judgment, Medtronic argued Valtierra’s employment was terminated for falsifying records to show he completed assignments when in fact he had not. It was undisputed that Valtierra admitted to Medtronic that he did not complete the assignments even though he entered that they were complete in the computer system.

Read the rest at Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

Gerald Sauer’s Law360 article on flawed process in music copyright suits

Judicial Process For Music Copyright Must Be Reined In

by Gerald Sauer

Popular singers and their songwriting teams are walking around with targets on their backs. Last month, in Gray v. Perry, a Los Angeles federal jury awarded $2.8 million to Christian rapper Marcus Gray after finding that Katy Perry and her “Dark Horse” songwriting team infringed his song “Joyful Noise.” In doing so, it continued a copyright trajectory that includes theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s 2018 “Blurred Lines” decision,Williams v. Gaye, affirming a $5 million infringement judgment against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in favor of heirs to Marvin Gaye.

Read full story on Law360


Gerald Sauer’s Law360 article on flawed process in music copyright suits

Judicial Process For Music Copyright Must Be Reined In

by Gerald Sauer

Popular singers and their songwriting teams are walking around with targets on their backs. Last month, in Gray v. Perry, a Los Angeles federal jury awarded $2.8 million to Christian rapper Marcus Gray after finding that Katy Perry and her “Dark Horse” songwriting team infringed his song “Joyful Noise.” In doing so, it continued a copyright trajectory that includes theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s 2018 “Blurred Lines” decision,Williams v. Gaye, affirming a $5 million infringement judgment against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in favor of heirs to Marvin Gaye.

Read full story on Law360


Gerald Sauer quoted in InformationWeek article on privacy policies

InformationWeek quoted Gerald Sauer in its article, “Why You Should Create a Forward-Looking Privacy Policy.”

There’s currently no comprehensive law governing the collection, use sale, or other disclosure of personal information across the United States, noted Gerald Sauer, a founding partner of Los Angeles-based law firm Sauer & Wagner. “A handful of laws set guidelines for use of personal information for specific purposes, such as medical and financial information.”  

Read full story at InformationWeek

Gerald Sauer’s article in The Daily Journal on working with both defendants and plaintiffs

Dear Fellow Employment Attorneys: Let’s Not Take Sides

Recently, I was taken to task by a defense side employment attorney who assumed that my firm only did defense work but learned that I represented a plaintiff. In his view, I had crossed the Rubicon.

by Gerald Sauer

Recently, I was taken to task by a defense side employment attorney who assumed that my firm only did defense work but learned that I represented a plaintiff. In his view, I had crossed the Rubicon. In fact, I regularly represent defendants and plaintiffs. If a case has merit, regardless of which side it’s on, I’m willing to take it.  

Read full story on DailyJournal.com (subscription required)

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