Wilson v. Phoenix Specialty Manufacturing Co., - F.3d - (4th Cir. 2008) – decided January 23, 2008 - United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit – Robert E. Hoskins

Occasionally, ERISA or disability claims involve peripheral issues governed by other laws.  When that occurs, I, obviously, tend to the ERISA issues and, if I feel competent to do so, I also try and handle any other issues that may be raised by the case under laws other than ERISA.  If necessary, I will bring other attorneys with appropriate experience to assist with other areas of law.  This tendency has resulted in my being involved in two published decisions involving the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

In Wilson v. Phoenix, I, along with two other attorneys, represented the plaintiff, Jimmy Wilson.  Mr. Wilson asserted an ERISA discrimination claim in addition to a cause of action against his former employer under the ADA.  The ERISA claim did not develop as we would have liked.  However, after a trial on the merits, the District Court ruled in Wilson’s favor on the ADA claim.  (Click here to see the district court decision)  The defendant appealed the verdict to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  In a split decision, the majority upheld the district court on the ADA cause of action by way of a published decision.  (Click here to view the Fourth Circuit’s decision)