A federal District Court in Michigan has dismissed a potential class action suit against the Henry Ford Health System in Michigan because it has held that time spent by certain hospital workers laundering and pressing their own hospital scrubs at home is not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
An appellate court in California has declined to provide assistance to a member of the Sierra Club who was suspended from volunteer leadership positions after a lengthy internal disciplinary process. It has refused to interfere with the internal affairs of the club.
The answer to this question depends on whom you ask. At least it seems to be that way in Arkansas.
After about five years of litigation, a divided Supreme Court in Arkansas has held that a bequest of 237 acres of farmland vested in the church upon the death of the donor, despite life interests in the farm income to four relatives of the donor and a transfer of the church’s interest upon its closing to a successor entity.
A judge in Oklahoma has asked the state’s Judicial Ethics Advisory Panel whether it is permissible for the judge to accept a “judge of the year” award from a law-related organization and take part in an acceptance video that will be shown as part of an awards banquet and on YouTube.
The judge may accept the award and complimentary tickets for the judge and family members to attend the ceremony, but may not participate in the acceptance video, the Panel replied in advisory opinion.
Descendants of Confederate veterans have no standing to sue to stop the relocation of a statue of Jefferson Davis on the University of Texas at Austin campus, the Court of Appeals of Texas has held. It has affirmed a trial court decision dismissing the case.
A community theater promoting independent and art films qualifies as an organization that relieves the government of some of its burden and qualifies for real estate tax exemption in Pennsylvania. The state Commonwealth Court has reversed a trial court and granted exemption to the Pocono Community Theater in East Stroudsburg.
A congregant of a church serving as a volunteer youth leader of the church’s youth ministry may not be prosecuted for violation of New Jersey’s Megan’s Law prohibition against sex offenders holding a position in a “youth serving organization.” The Appellate Division of the state Superior Court has held that a church group is not included within the definition of a “youth serving organization.”
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a homeowners’ association judgment for more than $30,000 against a former president for breach of fiduciary duty while in office is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. (Whitaker v. Moroney Farms Homeowners’ Association, Fifth Cir., No. 15-40926, 3/18/16.)
