When a private party brings an action under the False Claims Act, he or she sues not “only for himself but the king” in what is known as a qui tam lawsuit. The private plaintiff is called the relator. United States ex rel. Eisenstein v. City of New York, 556 U.S. 928, 932 (2009). As a synopsis, the process works like…
Posted November 2nd, 2017. November 1, 2017, U.S. – Sanford Heisler Sharp today announced it has received recognition in three regions in the U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” 2018 rankings. was ranked for its Employment Law practice in San Francisco; for its Commercial Litigation practice in San Diego; and for its Commercial Litigation practice in Washington, DC…
Revelations that Harvey Weinstein and Bill O’Reilly entered into serial confidential settlements with women who claimed they were sexually harassed in the workplace have brought a great deal of attention to non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in settlement agreements. Indeed, this increased attention has lead lawmakers in certain states to propose changes in the law to address concerns about secrecy,…
Posted October 31st, 2017. NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2017— In the wake of a lawsuit alleging that tenured professor William V. Harris sexually harassed a female graduate student, Columbia University yesterday announced that Harris was withdrawing from teaching and all other student-related activities. Columbia’s announcement came less than a month after filed a Complaint on behalf of 29-year-old Plaintiff Jane…
Absent a contract of employment, “at-will employment” is the predominant employment relationship in the United States. Under the system, an employer can fire an employee for good reason, bad reason, or no reason at all. However, an employee may not be fired for an illegal reason, such as racial, gender, or other types of discrimination forbidden by law. And an…
Posted October 20th, 2017. The tenants-rights lawsuit In re Gateway Plaza Residents Litigation (New York County Supreme Court Index No. 651023/2014), alleges that the Gateway Plaza apartment complex has been plagued by structural and design defects for more than a decade. In particular, Gateway’s residents have been forced to endure unbearably cold temperatures during the winter months because of outdated and poorly…
Posted October 18th, 2017. Nashville, TN—The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (“MNAA”) Board of Commissioners voted during today’s meeting to terminate President and CEO Rob Wigington. On September 5, 2017, MNAA relieved Wigington of his duties when Wigington attempted to return to work after taking medical leave. In June 2017, Wigington notified the board that he would require medical leave to…
Sexual harassment is all over the news. Harvey Weinstein, the cinematic giant, has been exposed as a loathsome lothario, a serial abuser of women, and a poster child of male privilege and abuse in the movie industry. Weinstein and sexual harassment are now inextricably linked in the public imagination, and, it seems, never the twain shall part. Sexual harassment is…
Posted October 2nd, 2017. Sexual Harassment, Unwanted Sexual Contact, and Retaliation Against Female Doctoral Student Detailed in Complaint For more information, contact Jamie Moss, newsPRos, , [email protected] October 2, 2017, New York City – Sanford Heisler Sharp today filed a sexual harassment suit under federal and New York law against the Trustees of Columbia University and the institution’s noted history professor,…
Most, if not all, states have insurance fraud prevention statutes designed to punish those who defraud private insurers. California, however, has enacted a law that takes insurance fraud prevention a step further. The California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act (“IFPA”) contains qui tam provisions that allow individuals or entities, known as relators: i) to blow the whistle on fraud against private…