Labor, Employment, Benefits & Immigration

Miles & Stockbridge represented a well-regarded non-profit that was sued by a former, high-level IT employee for discrimination and harassment. 

Reached a favorable settlement for a national credit counseling firm in a wage and hour class action pending in Arizona.

Defended an international manufacturer in FMLA employment litigation in the United States District Court of the Western District of Virginia. Obtained a favorable settlement for the client.

Steve represented an employer in the defense of discrimination and other claims by a physician who had failed to meet the employer’s requirement of becoming board certified in his area of specialty within the requisite time period. After failing the board certification examination, the physician claimed that he had a disability that the employer had failed to adequately accommodate. Despite being provided with various accommodations, the physician was again unsuccessful on the examination and his contract expired. Steve represented the employer in an intensive investigation by a government agency of the physician’s complaints of discrimination and retaliation. The agency ruled against the physician on each of his claims.  When the physician then filed suit in state court, Steve led the defense of the litigation and was able to accomplish a resolution on terms favorable to the employer.

We represented a Baltimore-based financial publishing company when one of its employees forged his boss’ signatures to use the company credit card to finance millions of dollars of personal expenses. We have referred the case to federal law enforcement and are assisting the client in all aspects of the investigation with the authorities.

Successfully defended a large electric and gas utility at Region 5 of the National Labor Relations Board against an attempt by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to secure a union representation election in a unit that was not system-wide.

Represented a producer and distributor of chemicals in prosecution of trade secret action in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland against a former sales employee who copied several hundred sensitive documents to a portable hard drive before departing the company. We obtained a temporary restraining order and ultimately consent permanent injunction barring former employee from retaining and using client’s information.

Lead litigation counsel for a client pursued for perchlorate groundwater contamination in the Rialto-Colton Groundwater Basin in San Bernardino County, California. This multi-year litigation involved state judicial and administrative proceedings, as well as federal judicial and administrative proceedings. The parties included the cities of Rialto, California, and Colton, California, the County of San Bernardino, the Santa Anna Regional and State Water Board, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Defense, and over a dozen other alleged PRPs. The team extensively litigated CERCLA liability/divisibility defenses and a variety of corporate successor liability issues for multiple historic entities under the laws of multiple states. After a court-deferred resolution of successor liability issues for trial, we negotiated a favorable settlement for the client limited to implementation of an interim remedial action, utilizing a trust funded by other PRPs, including the Department of Defense, with continuing cost-sharing by the Department of Defense in capital and O&M costs. The interim action was negotiated with significant limits on scope of remedial action and re-openers and no past or future EPA oversight costs. (City of Colton v. American Promotional Events, et al., USDC, Central District California (5:09-cv-01864-SG-SS)).