OPINION MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. The seven plaintiffs (Louis Henderson, Dana Harley, Dwight Smith, Albert Knox, James Douglas, Alqadeer Hamlet, and Jeffery Beyer) bring this lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a class of all current and future HIV-positive prisoners incarcerated in Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) facilities. They challenge the ADOC's policy of categorically segregating HIV-positive prisoners from the general prison population, arguing, among other things,...
OPINION AND ORDER MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. Plaintiff Crystal C. Lewis, an American of African descent, brings this case charging the defendants with discrimination (based on her race) and retaliation (based on her and her father's protected conduct) with respect to her employment. She names as defendants the Eufaula City Board of Education, its five board members, and its superintendent of education. Lewis charges that the defendants' actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER SUSAN RUSS WALKER, United States Magistrate Chief Judge. Plaintiff Willie J. Kilpatrick brings this employment discrimination action against his former employer, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, LLC ("HMMA"), alleging that HMMA discriminated against him in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by (1) failing to reasonably accommodate his sincerely held religious beliefs, which preclude work on the Sabbath; and (2) terminating his employment. (...
OPINION AND ORDER MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. The cause is before the court on the government's request for appointment of a guardian ad litem for claimant Broderick Zellers. The court cannot rule on the government's request at this time because the record contains insufficient evidence for the court to determine Zellers's competency to participate in this civil asset forfeiture proceeding. Accordingly, the court will order a psychological evaluation of Zellers's legal competency....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER W. HAROLD ALBRITTON, Senior District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION This case is before the court on a Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. # 24), filed by Auburn University Montgomery on September 7, 2012, and a Motion to Strike Affidavits and Other Evidence filed by Auburn University Montgomery on October 9, 2011 (Doc. # 34). Several Plaintiffs filed a Complaint in this court on June 24, 2011, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"),...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER KEITH WATKINS, Chief Judge. Plaintiff Jay Coleman brings this action against his former employer, Alabama State University ("ASU"), alleging gender-based disparate pay and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e to 2000e-17. He also brings a state law claim against ASU's president and the members of ASU's board of trustees in their official capacities for equitable relief, asserting that these Defendants...
OPINION AND ORDER MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. Plaintiff Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc. brought this action against defendants Black Swamp, Inc. (d/b/a Black Swamp Mitigation Bank) and Murphree Evans (Black Swamp's President and Director) claiming breach of contract, breach of implied-in-fact contract, quantum meruit, unjust enrichment, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, suppression, promissory fraud, and conversion. Subject-matter jurisdiction is proper under 28 U.S.C....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER MARK E. FULLER, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Jennifer B. ("Ms. B."), a high school English teacher, filed a complaint in this Court on behalf of herself and her disabled child, S.B., against her employer, Chilton County Board of Education ("the Board"). Ms. B. alleges that the Board denied equal educational opportunities to S.B., denied her equal employment benefits on the basis of S.B.'s disability, and retaliated against her for advocating for her...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER W. KEITH WATKINS, Chief Judge. This case is brought by several individuals who challenge Defendant Probate Judge Reese McKinney's marriage license policy. Plaintiffs contend that the policy requires applicants to present proof of legal residence in the United States and a valid Social Security card in order to receive a marriage license. Plaintiffs allege that this denies the right of marriage to certain non-citizens and to United States citizens whose intended...
OPINION AND ORDER MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. The eight named plaintiffs (Louis Henderson, Dana Harley, Darrell Robinson, Dwight Smith, Albert Knox, James Douglas, Alqadeer Hamlet, and Jeffery Beyer) bring this lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a class of all current and future HIV+ prisoners incarcerated in Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) facilities. They challenge ADOC's policy of segregating HIV+ inmates from the general prison population. They have named as defendants...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER W. KEITH WATKINS, Chief Judge. This suit is a Title VII retaliation action against the Barbour County Board of Education ("BCBOE" or "Board"). Plaintiff Frederick Russaw, who was employed by BCBOE as a transportation technician, alleges that his employment was nonrenewed in retaliation for protected conduct. BCBOE has moved for summary judgment on Mr. Russaw's Title VII claim of retaliation. (Docs. # 28, 29.) Mr. Russaw has responded in opposition to summary...
MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER MARK E. FULLER, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its Secretary, Shaun Donovan, filed a Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction. (ECF No. 36.) The plaintiff, Janie Weeks, declined to respond. She instead sought leave to file a third amendment complaint (ECF No. 44), which essentially asks the Court to allow her to plead around the jurisdictional defects brought to light by HUD...
MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER MARK E. FULLER, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION This lawsuit arises out of a traffic stop that took place in 2010. During the stop, Officers Norgard ("Norgard") and Shoupe ("Shoupe") — the only two individual defendants in the case — pulled over the plaintiff, Ricky Exford ("Exford"), after he made a dangerous lane change. The stop initially went without incident: Shoupe wrote Exford a ticket and Exford got back in his truck and started to leave. Exford decided,...
OPINION MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. Plaintiff Jack "Jay" Palmer, Jr., brings this lawsuit against defendants Infosys Technologies Limited Incorporated and Infosys Limited (together referred to as "Infosys") based on these state-law claims: breach of contract; outrage; negligence and wantonness; negligent hiring, training, monitoring and supervising; and fraudulent misrepresentation. 1 Jurisdiction is proper under 28 U.S.C. 1332 (diversity) & 1441 (removal). Infosys now moves for...
MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER MARK E. FULLER, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION Joseph Howard ("Howard") filed suit against his former employer, STERIS Corporation ("STERIS"), claiming disability and age discrimination. Now the case comes before the Court on two motions filed by STERIS. The first is a garden variety motion for summary judgment that contests the sufficiency of the evidence produced by Howard. (ECF No. 26.) The second asks for summary judgment on collateral estoppel grounds. (ECF...
ORDER AND OPINION W. HAROLD ALBRITTON, Senior District Judge. On July 5, 2012, the Magistrate Judge filed a Recommendation in this case to which no timely objections have been filed. (Doc. # 7). Upon an independent review of the file in this case and upon consideration of the Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED that the Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge be and is hereby ADOPTED and that: 1. The plaintiff's claims against the Alabama Department of...
OPINION AND ORDER MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. This long-standing Alabama elementary and secondary school-desegregation case is again before the court, this time on new motions for attorneys' fees and expenses filed by the plaintiffs' counsel pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1988. The plaintiffs' counsel seek a total of $364,815.06 from defendant Randolph County Board of Education. The court will award $271,315.06. The court will not repeat the extensive history of this litigation, which is set...
ORDER MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge. Based on the representations made on the record on August 8, 2012, with regard to the motions for refund and use of contempt fines (Doc. Nos. 8751 and 8830), it is ORDERED as follows: (1) The defendants are allowed until August 15, 2012 to submit a more concrete proposal for use of the contempt fines. (2) The parties are allowed a reasonable period of time to attempt to resolve the issues raised by the motions. The special master is to inform the...
ORDER W. HAROLD ALBRITTON, Senior District Judge. In accordance with the Memorandum Opinion entered on this day, it is ORDERED as follows: (1) The Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (Doc. #7) is GRANTED and this cause is hereby REMANDED to the Circuit Court of Barbour County, Alabama. (2) The clerk is DIRECTED to take all steps necessary to effect this remand.
MEMORANDUM OPINION W. HAROLD ALBRITTON, Senior District Judge. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY This cause is before the court on the Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (Doc. #7), filed on July 17, 2012. The Plaintiff, Ethel Wells ("Wells"), originally filed her case in the Circuit Court of Barbour County, Alabama on February 3, 2012, bringing claims against Herbert Spears and fictitious defendants. Wells filed an Amended Complaint in state court on May 23, 2012, adding Clark Buford Bait Company...
