Where the plaintiff, a former municipal employee, has brought suit under 42 U.S.C. §1983, the defendant town’s motion for summary judgment should be denied as to the plaintiff’s claim regarding pre-termination due process but allowed as to her claim regarding post-termination process.
“Plaintiff Diane Lawless, a former municipal employee, brought this action against Defendants Town of Freetown (‘Freetown’ or ‘Town’) and the members of its Board of Selectmen (the ‘Board members’) in their individual and official capacities. …
“On March 22, 2023, the First Circuit reversed this court’s denial of summary judgment on the individual Board members’ qualified immunity defense, and remanded the case for further proceedings. Lawless v. Town of Freetown, 63 F.4th 61 (1st Cir. 2023).
“On remand, the court invited the Town to file a second summary judgment motion to tee up the parties’ ongoing dispute as to Plaintiff’s section 1983 claim against the Town. …
“… In sum, the First Circuit’s decision squarely blocks Plaintiff’s claim that she can show that the pretermination hearing was constitutionally insufficient based on the Board members’ bias, even as to bias so substantial that it ‘plugged the Appellants’ ears so that they did not actually hear her response.’ …
“But this court reached one further conclusion of fact and law not addressed by the First Circuit (and with no impact on the qualified immunity analysis where the law concededly is not clearly established), namely, that the...
By Victor Ahiuma-Young The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has introduced stricter advertising rules for Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, warning operators against false claims, misleading ...