30 results for 'judge:"Bolden"'.
J. Bolden grants, in part, the employer's motion to dismiss, ruling the employee's termination alone is insufficient to establish either negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress claims, especially considering the employer merely enforced its drug policy when it discovered the employee used prescription painkillers and marijuana to alleviate back pain.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv1054, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Emotional Distress, Employment Discrimination
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J. Bolden denies, in part, the police officers' motion for summary judgment, ruling the false arrest claim filed by the female occupant of the vehicle will proceed. Although she was not charged with a crime and was released on the same night as the confrontation, a jury must determine whether the officers' decision to handcuff her for several hours and transport her to the police station constituted an arrest. Meanwhile, the officers are entitled to immunity on the male occupant's excessive force claim as it relates to their initial use of pepper spray because the officers told the occupant to exit his vehicle at least 12 times over a minute-long period before they used the pepper spray, which made that use of force reasonable.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv1766, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Immunity
J. Bolden denies the police chief's motion for summary judgment, ruling that because the female police officer was subject to the same disciplinary standards as several male officers with similar misconduct - off-duty domestic disputes - who were not fired, she has stated a plausible equal protection claim that must be submitted to a jury. However, because the female officer presented no evidence of a town policy that sanctioned such discrimination, all claims against the town must be dismissed.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv331, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Equal Protection, Employment Discrimination
J. Bolden denies, in part, the zoning commissioners' motion for summary judgment, ruling that although the landowner released claims against them in previous lawsuits, the commissioners' retaliation in the form of preventing development of a Costco store had not occurred at the time of those suits, which allows the landowner's First Amendment claim to proceed. However, the comparison evidence provided by the landowner - which included only one other property - is insufficient to support its Equal Protection claim regarding the Inlands and Wetlands application process, and that portion of the complaint must be dismissed.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 3:19cv371, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Property, Equal Protection, First Amendment
J. Bolden grants the state government officials' motion to dismiss, ruling the vaccination requirement for all preschool and kindergarten children is facially neutral and does not violate the religious school's First Amendment or Free Exercise rights, while the state's interest in preventing the spread of disease and ensuring the health of all students is compelling.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv304, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Education, First Amendment
J. Bolden denies, in part, the employer's motion for summary judgment, ruling a female employee's hostile work environment can proceed. Allegations of repeated instances of unwanted touching and inappropriate comments made in the female employee's department are sufficient to create questions of fact and could prove the existence of a pervasive toxic culture.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: September 30, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv370, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Evidence, Employment Discrimination
J. Bolden grants the employer's motion for summary judgment, ruling that because the bus driver was provided access to all of the evidence against him and was granted a hearing before his termination, his due process claim fails as a matter of law. Meanwhile, the driver's failure to include disciplinary records of white drivers who were allegedly treated more favorably requires dismissal of his Equal Protection claim because he failed to prove the white drivers were similarly situated.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv357, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Due Process, Equal Protection, Employment Discrimination
J. Bolden denies UPS's motion for summary judgment, ruling that while it relied on the cardinal infraction language in its CBA with the union when it fired the injured employee, the employee's lawsuit does not require interpretation of the CBA and so her retaliation claim is not preempted by the Labor Management Relations Act.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv711, NOS: Other Labor Litigation - Labor, Categories: Preemption, Employment Retaliation, Labor / Unions
J. Bolden denies, in part, the city and its police chief's motions for summary judgment, ruling the fired officers' attendance at a rally in support of their efforts to reopen the station during the Covid-19 pandemic constitutes First Amendment protected activity and is sufficient to state a plausible retaliation claim, given the proximity between the rally and their terminations. Furthermore, their defamation claims will proceed. Although the termination letters of the officers were public records and, therefore, could be disclosed to the media, the statements made by the chief during press conferences - specifically, that they were fired for "not doing their jobs" and for misconduct - are statements of fact that could be proved objectively false by the officers.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv787, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Retaliation, First Amendment
J. Bolden grants the employer's motion for summary judgment, ruling that while the morbidly obese employee was disabled at the time he took medical leave for bariatric surgery, the company had a legitimate reason to fire him, given his inconsistent performance history that included numerous disciplinary actions before he ever requested medical leave.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv1329, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Retaliation
J. Bolden grants in part the employer's motion to dismiss, ruling that the court lacks jurisdiction over the employee's Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act claim as a result of her failure to attach a release of jurisdiction letter from the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. Meanwhile, the lack of any evidence the employee had a disability during her tenure with the company requires dismissal of her ADA claim, while the retaliation claim will proceed because the proximity of the employee's termination to her complaint regarding protected activity establishes a prima facie case at this stage of the litigation.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 3:23cv31, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Jurisdiction, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
[Consolidated.] J. Bolden grants final approval of the settlement agreement, ruling that there is no evidence of coercion or bad-faith negotiations on the part of either party, while only one objection from a potential class size of 160,000 proves the result is fair and the settlement amount will adequately compensate all participants.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 3:18cv1818, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Settlements, Securities, Class Action
J. Bolden finds the Michigan Supreme Court improperly found no due process violation in the trial court’s conviction of defendant for murder, assault and various weapons charges. The witness who identified defendant at trial did not identify him before trial and in fact identified different individuals as possible assailants before trial. The admissibility of in-court identification is premised on reliability, but the identification was not reliable. Reversed in part. Vacated in part and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 162373, Categories: Murder, Due Process, Witnesses
J. Bolden finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for breaking and entering as a fourth-offense habitual offender. Defendant moved to terminate his appointed attorney, asserting multiple claims of ineffective assistance. Though defendant requested to defend himself, the court entered no formal waiver of counsel, invalidating the effective waiver. Defendant was not required to affirmatively invoke his Sixth Amendment right to counsel in order to preserve the right and was not required to object to the invalid waiver. The cited forfeiture doctrine does not apply. Reversed and remanded.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 162327, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Trespass, Due Process
J. Bolden finds the Court of Appeals improperly found journalists, who were denied Department of Corrections recordings of a prisoner altercation resulting in an inmate’s death, prevailed only in part and are not entitled to attorney fees. Pro bono representation is not an appropriate consideration in determining the reasonableness of attorney fees. The Court of Claims correctly found that the journalists were entitled to fees, though it improperly reduced the fees. The Court of Appeals judgment is reversed. The Court of Claims’ judgment is vacated and remanded to reassess the reasonableness of the attorney fees.
Court: Michigan Supreme Court, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 163382, Categories: Public Record, Attorney Fees, Prisoners' Rights
J. Bolden denies the Town of New Milford defendants’ motion for summary judgment on state common law tort claims brought by codefendants in a criminal proceeding who alleged fabrication of evidence, malicious prosecution and suppression of material exculpatory evidence, which ultimately resulted in wrongful conviction and incarceration for more than 30 years. There are genuine issues of material fact that should be left for a jury to decide.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv1790, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Tort
J. Bolden denies summary judgment to the electronic manufacturing company for the application engineer's retaliation claim alleging that his supervisor asked him when he would resign shortly after he said he would need to take Family and Medical Leave Act leave in the future because his wife needed surgery. There are still factual issues surrounding the temporal proximity between the engineer's FMLA leave request in October 2020 and his termination in April 2021.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv1567, NOS: Family and Medical Leave Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Employment Retaliation
J. Bolden grants the hospital's motion to dismiss, ruling the transgender patient cannot bring Affordable Care Act claims for its failure to stock certain hormone treatments. She seeks damages for emotional distress, a type of relief not recoverable through the Act. Meanwhile, the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act claim was filed more than three years after the events at issue and, therefore, is time-barred.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1158, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Health Care, Damages
J. Bolden grants an insurer's motion to dismiss, ruling the car owner's request for more than $7,000 in damages is insufficient to meet this court's threshold, even if punitive damages were found; therefore, the district court lacks jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1458, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Jurisdiction
J. Bolden grants an insurer's motion to dismiss, ruling the car owner's request for over $13,000 in compensatory damages fails to meet this court's threshold, even if punitive damages were found; therefore, the district court lacks jurisdiction.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1456, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Damages, Jurisdiction
J. Bolden grants the employer's motion for summary judgment, ruling that while the security manager's supervisor asked him several times before his termination if he planned to retire, the manager's alcohol consumption at a company event gave the employer a legitimate reason to fire him. There is no evidence of pretext, as several of the comments were made years before the manager's termination, and he was replaced with someone in his protected age group.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bolden, Filed On: May 12, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv1486, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Evidence, Employment Discrimination