CURRENT EVENTS

August 2008

In the majority of employment cases brought in Federal Court, the company being sued wins the case on Summary Judgment: meaning, the Federal Judge dismisses the case before allowing it to be decided by a jury. In the case of Torina Collis v. Bank of America, National Association, Federal District Court, District of Maryland, Civil Action Number: 8:06-cv-02451-PJM, Ms. Collis retained the law office of Morris E. Fischer, LLC after her prior lawyers withdrew from representing her, when the case failed to settle. So bent on settlement, her prior attorneys failed to take a single deposition of any Bank of America official during the discovery period. At the close of discovery, Bank of America, represented by the top tier employment defense firm of McGuire Woods, LLP, moved for Summary Judgment.

Despite the late entry of our firm into the case, the Court gave no extension to our firm to submit a legal brief opposing the Summary Judgment motion. After studying the written arguments, the Court set the matter down for a Summary Judgment oral argument on August 13, 2008, which lasted three hours. Against all odds, based on thorough preparation and a deep understanding of the legal issues, the Federal court was swayed by Mr. Fischer’s arguments and set the matter down for a jury trial scheduled for, April 28, 2009.

At our firm, we never underestimate the power of a commitment to excellence and the desire to win.

February 2008

Case: Texeira v. United States Postal Serv., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 4335 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 28, 2008).  Morris E. Fischer, Esq. successfully appealed against the United States Postal Service in an M.S.P.B. decision which struck down a disciplinary decision against a U.S. Postal Service employee that had stripped her of management responsibility and demoted her to a part-time, entry level clerical position.  The Court found that under the factors enumerated in Douglas v. Veterans Admin., 5 M.S.P.R. 280 (1981), this discipline far exceeded the only proven charge of Failure to Follow Proper Timekeeping Procedures. The firm would like to thank Ms. Judy Texeira, our client, of Modesto, California for entrusting and retaining our office for this appeal and to Jensen M. Grant, our office’s newest addition, a second year law student from American University School of Law, for assisting with the oral argument preparation.  Morris E. Fischer, Esq., drafted the appeal documents and orally argued the case at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.  To read the decision, click here.

October 2007

Morris E. Fischer, Esq. and local Mississippi lawyer, Jim Waide, Esq. teamed up their talents and socked Atlantic Southeast Airlines with an $870,000.00 jury verdict for Shay Hitchcock in a wrongful termination claim. The Oxford, Mississippi jury found that the defendant had maliciously interfered with Mr. Hitchcock's employment by falsely accusing him of homosexual harassment. It awarded $120,000.00 in back pay and $750,000.00 in pain and suffering.

May 2007

Morris E. Fischer, Esq. successfully appealed to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Operations (OFO) and obtained a reversal of the Summary Judgment decision issued by Lead Administrative Law Judge for the EEOC's Birmingham District Office, Clarence Bell. In the case Shay A. Hitchcock v. Department of Homeland Security, Appeal No. 0120051461, the OFO found that Judge Bell had improperly found for the Department of Homeland Security on Summary Judgment.

Our client, Mr. Shay Hitchcock was wrongfully terminated when he was falsely accused of improper sexual conduct toward a Delta employee. As a result, Mr. Hitchcock then became a victim of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, when he refused to publicly apologize to the employee at the Golden Triangle Airport, in Columbus, Mississippi. Click here to read the decision.

Our office, along with the Mississippi law firm, Waide & Associates, who we retained as local counsel, also represents Mr. Hitchcock in his Federal Court action against Atlantic Southeast Airlines for tortious interference with a contract and defamation. That case, Civil Action No. 1:04CV70-M-D defeated Summary Judgment as well and is scheduled for trial October 29, 2007.

January 2007

On January 25, 2007, the Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals reversed the lower Washington, D.C. court, and helped settle several critical legal questions involving an inheritor's right to receive a will inheritance, then contest the validity of the same will. The case, in Re, Estate of Barbara Davis, No. 05-PR-1475, involved a will contest, in which the Appellant, our client, Gary Davis, contended that the will from which he ultimately received an inheritance was invalid due to undue influence over the testator. Mr. Davis later accepted his inheritance under the will, while still challenging it.

The Appellee claimed that Mr. Davis had forfeited his right to contest the will. Morris E. Fischer, argued the appeal on behalf of Mr. Davis and successfully argued that since no party was unduly prejudiced, meaning that no party suffered an irretrievable loss by Mr. Davis accepting monies under the will, the Appellant should have nonetheless had the right to contest it. The case involved the analysis of certain legal precedents, some over a hundred years old and the Court's decision helped provide clarity on this issue of law.

The Court also reversed the trial court that dismissed the case because Mr. Davis, who at the time had no lawyer and was unaware of a scheduling conference, missed it. Mr. Fischer argued that in truth, the Court had failed to send notice to Mr. Davis' correct address and as such, Mr. Davis had valid reasons for missing his conference. Following the dismissal, Mr. Davis retained Morris E. Fischer, Attorney at Law to argue the appeal. To read the decision, click here.

November 2006

Global Lawyering, a/k/a Fagbenle Attorneys, LLC, has retained Morris E. Fischer, Esq., as counsel to assist in resolving a class action lawsuit filed in the United States Federal Court, Eastern Disctrict. The case, Azikiwe et al v. Nigeria Airways Limited et al, 1:03-cv-06387-FB-CLP, centers upon conduct committed by Defendant's Nigeria Airways for violations of charging improper baggage fees, false detention of passengers and Article 19 of the Warsaw Convention, an international treaty that dictates conduct standards for international airlines.

Said Kunle Fagbenle, Esq, President of Fagbenle Attorneys, LLC, “I have known Morris for more than five years. We've turned to Morris E. Fischer in this matter for his great breadth of litigation experience, having litigated cases in numerous states, his great integrity and common sense approach to law, which is an invaluable asset to this case.”

To learn more about the lawsuit, go to www.nalclassaction.com.

August 2006

Morris E. Fischer, Attorney at Law, recently settled a case against the United States Postal Service for discrimination and retaliation in the amount of $162,500.00.  Our client, an African American, was subject to numerous racial comments such as references to the African American who was dragged by a truck in Texas and repeatedly called “boy” by a manager who didn’t recognize that term as racially offensive.  When Mr. Welch complained to management, they either ignored him or advised him to work it out himself.  Since this action involved both discrimination and the Merit Systems Protection Board, there were two cases filed by our office, each appealing an Administrative Judge’s decision.  The EEOC Administrative Judge originally ruled for Mr. Welch in the amount of only $14,000.00 for compensatory damages. The settlement was reported by the Roanoke Times, on August 29, 2006, see annexed.