On November 5, Gordon & Rees Phoenix partner Deanna Rader and senior counsel Monica Ryden secured the voluntary dismissal of claims based on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for their a client, an international hospitality management company.
The plaintiff, a former hotel manager, alleged he was terminated shortly after he requested two weeks off for surgery, in violation of the FMLA. Plaintiff asserted the same factual basis for his claims over the course of the litigation, however Ryden was able to obtain admissions during his deposition testimony that no surgery was scheduled as of the date of his termination and his requests for time off were no more than an indication that he might have to be absent at some unforeseen time in the future.
Plaintiff’s counsel failed to depose the hotel’s witness, and did not obtain testimony to refute the motion for summary judgment Ryden and Rader filed on behalf of their client. Gordon & Rees opposed plaintiff’s motion to extend discovery deadlines and won. Following the district court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion, and faced with the very real threat of summary judgment, plaintiff proposed a walk-away.