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Subject:	June 5 -- U.S. Law Week's Case Alert

______________________________

THE U.S. LAW WEEK'S CASE ALERT
Highlights & Table of Contents
June 5, 2001
______________________________

ISSN 1522-4317

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HIGHLIGHTS
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SUPREME COURT SAYS CAPS ON COMPENSATORY DAMAGES IN FEDERAL
JOB BIAS SUITS DON'T APPLY TO FRONT PAY AWARDS

Front pay awards in federal employment discrimination suits
are not subject to the 1991 Civil Rights Act's caps on
compensatory damages, the U.S. Supreme Court rules. The
unanimous decision resolves a circuit split in favor of the
majority view on the issue.

Front pay is money awarded either for lost compensation
between the date of judgment and the date of reinstatement
or in lieu of reinstatement. The front pay remedy has long
been available under Section 706(g) of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act. Because the 1991 Act authorized compensatory and
punitive damages "in addition to" remedies already available
under Section 706(g), the court concludes that the caps do
not apply to front pay awards. . . . Page 1727

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g4a4g5_


INNOVATIVE MAINE LAW MAKING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AVAILABLE AT
DISCOUNT TO UNINSURED SURVIVES CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES

Maine's novel prescription drug price control statute is not
preempted by the Medicaid statute and does not violate the
commerce clause, the First Circuit rules. The Maine program
makes prescription drugs available at a discount to
uninsured state residents who do not qualify for Medicaid,
and requires prior state authorization of the prescriptions
of drug manufacturers who decline to negotiate rebates with
the state.

Rejecting a conflict preemption claim, the court says the
rebate negotiation and prior authorization features are
"consonant" with the Medicaid program by making prescription
drugs more accessible to low-income people. Finding no merit
to the commerce clause challenge, the court says that the
Maine statute does not apply extraterritorially or
discriminate against out-of-state manufacturers, and that
its local benefits outweigh any burden on interstate
commerce. . . . Page 1729

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f2n4a6_


JUSTICES ADOPT SINGLE-ENTITY APPROACH FOR CALCULATING
PRODUCT LIABILITY LOSS OF AFFILIATES FILING CONSOLIDATED
RETURN

The product liability loss for an affiliated group of
corporations filing a consolidated return should be
determined using the single-entity approach urged by the
taxpayer, not the separate-member methodology urged by the
government, the U.S. Supreme Court decides. The ruling
resolves a circuit split on the availability of the product
liability loss carryback under Section 172 of the Internal
Revenue Code.

In the government's view, affiliates that generate positive
separate taxable income should not contribute to product
liability loss eligible for the carryback. But the court
finds the taxpayer's single-entity approach a preferable
reading of the tax code and applicable regulations,
rejecting the government's claim that it will lead to tax
avoidance abuses. . . . Page 1733

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g3y4m7_


_____________

IN THIS ISSUE
_____________

A complete topical index of Case Alert.

ATTORNEYS: A discharged law firm may not intervene in its
former client's litigation protect its charging lien, at
least without showing that its rights won't be protected by
the client and successor counsel, the Second Circuit
decides. . . . Page 1723

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0t2u0_

CIVIL PROCEDURE: Exacerbating a circuit split, the Sixth
Circuit holds that interest on a federal court's award of
attorneys' fees begins to accrue when the court enters the
fee judgment, not when it fixes amount of award. . . . Page
1724

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f7r1d9_

CIVIL RIGHTS: An array of statistical data presented by
civil rights plaintiffs was insufficient to save a racial
profiling suit from law enforcement officials' motion for
summary judgment, the Seventh Circuit rules. . . . Page 1724

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f9j2z5_

CRIMINAL LAW: The U.S. Supreme Court overturns a second
death penalty sentence in a long-running capital case
involving a mentally retarded defendant. . . . Page 1726

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g4q7y8_

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: The Age Discrimination in
Employment Act does not protect foreign nationals who apply
abroad for jobs in the United States, the Fourth Circuit
holds. . . . Page 1727

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f7a3v9_

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: Front pay is not an element of
"compensatory damages" within the meaning of the 1991 Civil
Rights Act and thus is not subject to the statutory caps on
compensatory damages in 42 U.S.C. Section  1981a(b)(3), the
U.S. Supreme Court determines. . . . Page 1727

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g4a4g5_

FAMILY LAW: A state agency's noncompliance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act may not be raised as a
defense in a proceeding to terminate parental rights, the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concludes. . . . Page
1728

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f4k6p6_

FOOD AND DRUGS: Maine's prescription drug price control
statute is not preempted by the Medicaid statute and does
not run afoul of the commerce clause, the First Circuit
rules. . . . Page 1729

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f2n4a6_

INSURANCE: An insurer that meets certain conditions may
recover from its insureds settlement payments made over
their objection if the underlying claims turn out to be
outside the policy's coverage, the California Supreme Court
decides. . . . Page 1730

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8p4a1_

LABOR: Rejecting the NLRB's position, the Ninth Circuit
holds that unions may not include the costs of organizing
employees of other employers in determining the agency fees
that nonmembers must pay under a union security clause in a
collective bargaining agreement. . . . Page 1731

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f3c4t2_

LOCAL GOVERNMENT: The Chicago school board's extension of
spousal health benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of
school district employees does not violate the equal
protection rights of employees who have uncovered domestic
partners of the opposite sex, the Seventh Circuit finds. . .
. Page 1732

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f2n0a4_

MARITIME LAW: The U.S. Supreme Court holds that wrongful
death actions based on negligence may be brought under the
general maritime law. . . . Page 1733

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g4a8z1_

TAXATION: The product liability loss of an affiliated group
of corporations must be figured on a consolidated,
single-entity basis, the U.S. Supreme Court decides. . . .
Page 1733

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g3y4m7_

TAXATION: A reversion of surplus pension plan assets by a
corporation that does business in multiple states is taxable
by California as apportionable business income, the
California Supreme Court rules. . . . Page 1734

http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f4t8c0_

CASES IN BRIEF : . . . Page 1735


______________

TABLE OF CASES
______________

Adoption of Gregory (Mass.) . . . Page 1728
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f4k6p6_

Associated General Contractors of Ohio Inc. v. Drabik (6th
Cir.) . . . Page 1724
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f7r1d9_

Blue Ridge Insurance Co. v. Jacobsen (Cal.) . . . Page 1730
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8p4a1_

Brusco Tug & Barge Co. v. NLRB (D.C. Cir.) . . . Page 1736
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8k6b5_

Butler, Fitzgerald & Potter v. Sequa Corp. (2d Cir.) . . .
Page 1723
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g0t2u0_

Charges of Unprofessional Conduct Against 99-37, In re (8th
Cir.) . . . Page 1735
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8k6a5_

Chavez v. Illinois State Police (7th Cir.) . . . Page 1724
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f9j2z5_

Comdisco Securities Litigation, In re  (N.D. Ill.) . . .
Page 1735
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8k6a8_

Commonwealth v. Liang (Mass.) . . . Page 1736
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g3v3m1_

Florida v. Thomas (U.S.) . . . Page 4400
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g3v3m1_

Hoechst Celanese Corp. v. Franchise Tax Board (Cal.) . . .
Page 1734
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f4t8c0_

Irizarry v. Chicago Bd. of Educ. (7th Cir.) . . . Page 1732
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f2n0a4_

Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Corp. v. Garris (U.S.) . . .
Page 1733
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g4a8z1_

Penry v. Johnson (U.S.) . . . Page 1726
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g4q7y8_

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v.
Concannon (1st Cir.) . . . Page 1729
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f2n4a6_

Pollard v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (U.S.) . . . Page
1727
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g4a4g5_

Razorfish Inc. Securities Litigation, In re  (S.D.N.Y.) . .
. Page 1735
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8k6a8_

Reyes-Gaona v. North Carolina Growers Association (4th Cir.)
. . . Page 1727
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f7a3v9_

Secretary of State v. Tretiak (Nev.) . . . Page 1736
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8k6b9_

Service Employees Int'l Union Health and Welfare Fund v.
Philip Morris Inc. (D.C. Cir.) . . . Page 1736
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f9k7w7_

Slattery v. Swiss Reinsurance America Corp. (2d Cir.) . . .
Page 1736
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f8k6b2_

United Dominion Industries Inc. v. United States (U.S.) . .
. Page 1733
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g3y4m7_

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1036 v. NLRB (9th
Cir.) . . . Page 1731
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4f3c4t2_

United States v. Sherburne (9th Cir.) . . . Page 1736
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1f7f3_

United States v. True (6th Cir.) . . . Page 1736
   http://pubs.bna.com/ip/BNA/law2.nsf/id/a0a4g1f7f3_

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