Waiver does not bind student athletes

A release and waiver of claims for injury signed by student athletes has been held ineffective against claims by two student athletes hurt during football practice at a nonprofit junior college in Pennsylvania.  An appellate court has reversed a trial court decision dismissing the claims on the basis of their waiver.

Minister may sue for breach of employment contract

Newton Gregorio and his wife Lynette co-founded the Capital Inner City Outreach Ministry in Washington, D.C. in 1995 and later incorporated the organization as the Capital Wesleyan Church.  The church affiliated itself with the national Wesleyan Church and its mid-Atlantic regional subsidiary, the Chesapeake District of the Wesleyan Church, while retaining its independence as an entity.

Exec may proceed with retaliation suit under Stimulus Act

A Head Start program in New York City has lost a motion for summary judgment to dismiss a whistleblower retaliation suit brought by the former executive director under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the economic stimulus act passed at the start of the Obama administration.  A federal District Court has ruled that there are material issues of fact concerning the case.

Texas Foundation Can’t Sue Alabama Grantee in Texas

Court says university did not “purposefully avail” itself of the privilege of conducting activities within Texas

A private foundation in Texas may not sue the University of Alabama in a Texas court for breach of contract for a scholarship program being operated in Alabama, an appellate court in Texas has held.  It has reversed a trial court decision allowing the case to proceed.

Religious organization can’t stop bank subpoenas

A nonprofit religious organization, which claimed “church” status during an Internal Revenue Service inquiry about possible excess benefit transactions, is unable to stop IRS subpoenas for financial records held by eight banks.  A federal District Court in South Carolina has rejected the group’s efforts to prevent the banks from providing the information.

Lawyer not liable to unnamed beneficiaries of will

Reversing a decision by a state appellate court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that a lawyer cannot be liable for legal malpractice to potential third-party beneficiaries of a decedent’s estate when the potential beneficiaries have not been named in testamentary documents actually executed by the decedent.