Employment Litigation

Representative Cases

Saltarella v. Town of Enfield,  2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 15767 (2d Cir.  2007)(civil rights appeal alleging claim of procedural due process and First Amendment retaliation.  Mr. Saltarella alleged that he blew the whistle on illegal police practices.  Mr. Rose obtained a summary judgment on behalf of all defendants, and was affirmed by the Second Circuit).

O'Connor v. Pierson, 426 F.3d 187; 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 21944; 151 Lab. Cas. (CCH) P60,074; 10 Wage & Hour Cas. 2d (BNA) 1665 (leading Second Circuit case on rights of public sector employers to obtain psychiatric information from potentially dangerous employees).

Harhay v. Town of Ellington Bd. of Educ., 323 F.3d 206; 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 5518 (Procedural due process claim brought by tenured teacher who was fired as part of a reduction in force.  Mr. Rose obtained a reversal of the district court’s denial of qualified immunity in an interlocutory appeal).

O'Connor v. Bd. of Educ. 90 Conn. App. 59; 877 A.2d 860; 2005 Conn. App. LEXIS 276; 23 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 136, cert. denied, O'Connor v. Bd. of Educ., 275 Conn. 912, 882 A.2d 675, 2005 Conn. LEXIS 380 (2005)(reversal of jury verdict on invasion of privacy claim in favor of plaintiff on governmental immunity. Mr. Rose obtained a defendant’s verdict on the remaining eight claims alleging constitutional, statutory and common law theories).

Aceto v. Town of Bloomfield, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 32475 (successfully defended Town of Bloomfield and individual defendants against former police officer's constitutional claims that the defendants violated her right to privacy and discriminated against her because of her gender; summary judgment granted).

Distiso v. Town of Wolcott, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83835 (obtained dismissal of certain constitutional claims against public school teachers and superintendent).

Smolicz v. Borough/Town of Naugatuck, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50596, amended by, in part, adhered to, in part, on reconsideration by Smolicz v. Borough/ Town of Naugatuck, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77024 (successfully defended Naugatuck police department on First Amendment retaliation claim brought by terminated police officer; summary judgment granted; currently on appeal to Second Circuit).

Mallett v. Town of Plainville, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15794 (successfully defended individual capacity defendants in First Amendment whistleblower case).

Papay v. Town of New Canaan, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5338; 97 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 889 (constructive discharge claim dismissed in sexual harassment case).

Vollemans v. Town of Wallingford, 2006 Conn. Super. LEXIS 41(successfully defended Town of Wallingford on age discrimination claim brought by a former Town employee; summary judgment granted because claim was not timely filed; certification granted by Connecticut Supreme Court regarding whether Ricks applies to discrimination claims brought pursuant to Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act).

Pare v. City of Bristol, 386 F. Supp. 2d 43; 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19395; 17 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 274 (successfully defended City of Bristol on disability discrimination case brought by police officer).

Martin v. Town of Westport, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125 (successfully tried on two occasions and obtained summary judgment on third in case of race discrimination and retaliation).

Braheney v. Town of Wallingford, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5515 (successfully defended the Town of Wallingford from gender discrimination and disability discrimination brought by female firefighter).

Diggs v. Town of Machester, 303 F. Supp. 2d 163 (D. Conn. 2006) (successfully defended Town of Manchester and individual defendants against former firefighter’s claims of race and disability discrimination, harassment and retaliation in violation of Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; summary judgment granted).

Barton v. City of Bristol, 294 F. Supp. 2d 184; 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21623; 173 L.R.R.M. 3045 look up (successfully obtained summary judgment on first amendment whistleblower/ retaliation, substantive due process and equal protection claims brought against Fire Chief).

Filush v. Town of Weston, 266 F. Supp. 2d 322 (D. Conn. 2003); (granting motion to dismiss, holding that public employees may not bring cause of action under Title II of ADA to circumvent exhaustion requirements of Title I of the ADA).

Matos v. Bristol Bd. of Educ., 204 F. Supp. 2d 375 (D. Conn. 2002); 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10359 (successfully defended discrimination case brought by janitor).

Rider v. Town of Farmington, 162 F. Supp. 2d 45; 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14369 (successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of Farmington police department in case of gender discrimination and retaliation by female officer).

Miner v. Town of Cheshire, 126 F. Supp. 2d 184 (D.Conn. 2000) (successfully sought and obtained dismissal of sexual harassment claims because they were not timely filed and plaintiff did not plead facts triggering the application of the continuing violation doctrine or equitable tolling).

Meeker v. Regional Sch. Dist. # 6, initial opinion at, 23 F. Supp. 2d 193; 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16554 (case tried to verdict on procedural due process claim brought by public school teacher who was non-renewed).

ATC Partnership v. Town of Windham, 251 Conn. 597; 741 A.2d 305; 1999 Conn. LEXIS 410, as Amended December 28, 1999, cert. denied, ATC Partnership v. Town of Windham, 530 U.S. 1214, 147 L. Ed. 2d 249, 120 S. Ct. 2217 (seminal case on causes of action under the Connecticut Constitution).

Tsombanidis v. West Haven Fire Dep't., 352 F.3d 565; 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 25227; 15 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 32; Accom. Disabilities Dec. (CCH) 11-077(reversal of district court judgment applying erroneous disparate impact analysis; upheld applicability of State fire codes to challenge under Fair Housing Act).

Aselton v. Town of East Hartford, 277 Conn. 120 (2006)(affirming summary judgment granted in favor of police chief and dispatchers on claim of violation of substantive due process under federal and state constitutions).

Prescott v. City of Meriden, 80 Conn. App. 697 (2003)(affirming governmental immunity and limiting exception of identifiable victim/ imminent harm exception).

Earl v. Daigle, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70985 (D. Conn. 2006)(summary judgment granted in favor of police department in case against individual officer and department for violation of constitutional privacy rights of citizen).

Blackhawk Sec., Inc. v. Town of Hamden, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15891 (D. Conn. 2005)(summary judgment granted in equal protection case brought against Hamden police department for preferential use of police officers at construction sites rather than flaggers).

Centerfolds, Inc. v. Town of Berlin, 352 F. Supp. 2d 183 (D. Conn. 2004)(partial summary judgment upholding Berlin’s ordinance regulating sexually oriented businesses under First Amendment, dismissing procedural due process claims and granting qualified immunity to individual town council members).

Merry Charters, LLC v. Town of Stonington, 342 F. Supp. 2d 69 (D. Conn. 2004))(summary judgment granted in favor of zoning commission, zoning board of appeals and all individual members in case brought by plaintiff for unconstitutional taking, equal protection and substantive due process and granting qualified immunity to individual commission members).

R.M. v. Vernon Bd. of Educ., 208 F. Supp. 2d 216 (D. Conn. 2002)(after full hearing, preliminary injunction denied in case involving Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act).

Menon v. Frinton, 170 F. Supp. 2d 190 (D. Conn. 2001), affirmed, 31 Fed. Appx. 735, cert. denied, Menon v. Frinton, 2002 U.S. LEXIS 5542 (qualified immunity granted to police officer on fourth amendment and selective enforcement claim).

Risica ex rel. Risica v. Dumas, 466 F.Supp.2d 434 (D. Conn. 2006); 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84116(summary judgment granted in favor of Principal on claim by student for violating student’s procedural due process and substantive due process rights.)
 
Pansy Road, LLC v. Town of Fairfield, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27061 (motion to dismiss granted in favor of First Selectman on First Amendment grounds where plaintiff alleged First Selectman violated its constitutional rights to obtaining a subdivision permit where First Selectman opposed project).