My Cases - Joseph A. Yablonski

Employment Discrimination and Wrongful Termination

Kolstad v. American Dental Association, 527 U.S. 526 (1999)(standard governing eligibility of plaintiffs for awards of punitive damages in federal civil-rights suits).

Estes v. Georgetown University, 231 F. Supp.2d 279 (D.D.C. 2002)(jury verdict of compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages for claims of sex discrimination and retaliation).

Datta v. GlaxoSmithKline, (D.C. Super. No. 04-008524)(recovered 135% of backpay lost by 62 year old male pharmaceutical salesman discharged and replaced by 35 year old female when court, after 2-year e-discovery battle, ordered production of all email involving plaintiff and plaintiff recovered 100% of all fees and costs).

James Bramson v. American Dental Association; Mary Logan v. American Dental Association, (achieved high six-figure separation payments and benefit improvements through protracted negotiations involving unlawful age-based terminations of the ADA’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer).

Askey v. Drake Beam Morin, et al., Superior Ct. No. 030004781 (Age Discrimination Act action settled on very favorable terms after Defendants were directed to produce emails and other crucial documents).

McDevitt v. National Football League Player’s Association, San Francisco Ct. No. C.A.No. 04-434191; N.D. Cal. No. C-04-04912 SBA (defense of sexual harassment claim successfully removed to federal court on grounds that the in-state defendant had been fraudulently joined; case settled promptly thereafter).

Thomas v. National Football League Player’s Association, D.D.C. No. 91-3332 (multiple plaintiff claims under Title VII reduced to one claim and limited backpay recovery), affirmed in part, reversed in part, 131 F.3d 198 (D.C.Cir. 1997).

Hubbard v. Rubbermaid Inc., 1979 WL 12 (D.Md.), 78 F.R.D. 631 (D.Md. 1978), 436 F.Supp. 1184 (D.Md. 1977) (Title VII equal-pay nationwide class action suit settled on eve of trial).

Workplace Injuries and Wrongful Death

Hurd v. Hitachi Construction Machinery, C.A. No. 96-199J (W.D. Pa.)(achieved multi-million dollar settlement of product-liability action against Japanese manufacturer and its domestic subsidiary for widow and surviving children of coal mine equipment operator; case involved difficult issues of discovery of highly technical engineering documents accessible only in Japanese).

Ashley v. Adkins and Island Creek Coal Co., C. A. No. 82-CI-329 (Hindman Cty. Ky. Cir. Ct.) aff’d, Old Republic Ins. Co. v. Ashley, 722 S.W.2d 55 (Ky. App. 1986)($5.15 million dollar settlement for widows and survivors of victims of coal-mine explosion upheld).

Mersing v. National Mine Service, C.A. No. 79-C-879 (Monongalia Cty. W. Va. Cir. Ct.)(represented plaintiff coal miner in products-liability suit, settled after verdict for plaintiff, for traumatic injuries incurred while operating defectively-designed underground mining equipment).

Angle v. National Mine Service, C.A.No. 79-473J (W.D.Pa.) (settled products-liability action for seriously injured female shuttle car operator).

Rasnick v. Pittston Co., Inc., 237 Va. 658, 379 S.E. 2d 353 (1989)(our representation of widows and survivors of miners killed in a methane-gas explosion, which sought to overturn two decades of adverse decisions, was ultimately unsuccessful in the Virginia Supreme Court).

Liller v. Cummins-Wagner, et al., C.A. No. 90-C-55 (Monongalia Cty. W.Va. Cir. Ct.)(represented personal representative in settled, multiple-party wrongful death action arising from death of employee in compressor explosion at state-owned ski lodge).

Prater v. National Mine Service, C.A. No. 95-275 (E.D. Ky.)(products-liability suit for widow and surviving children of underground coal miner killed while operating man carrier manufactured by defendants; settled at outset of trial after selection of jury).

Labor Antitrust

Brown v. Pro Football, Inc., 518 U.S. 231 (1996)(tried antitrust claims for class of “practice squad” football players resulting in treble damage verdict of $30 million against NFL Clubs; judgment ultimately reversed based on non-statutory labor exemption to antitrust liability).

Tice v. Pro Football, Inc., 812 F. Supp. 255 (D.D.C. 1993)(represented class in price-fixing claims based on NFL Clubs’ agreement to pay fixed salaries to veteran players for the pre-season; settled for $5 million as part of comprehensive settlement of player-related litigation).

Zimmerman v. National Football League, 632 F.Supp. 398 (D.D.C. 1986)(represented NFLPA successfully in antitrust challenge to NFL supplemental draft of players from the United States Football League).

Health and Pension Benefits

Player Trustees of the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan v. Management Trustees, (Richard Kasher Arbitrator, 2009). Represented Player Trustees in closely watched Arbitration involving an NFL Player suffering from early dementia after sustaining multiple concussions and head trauma during nine NFL seasons)(Pending).

Bidwill v. Garvey, 943 F.2d 498 (4th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1099 (affirmance of $30 million judgment for delinquent pension payments that was entered following an advisor jury trial).

Safran v. USX and United Steelworkers, C.A. No. 87-2191 (W.D. Pa.)(represented class of plaintiffs in hybrid/DFR, ERISA suit claiming that employer systematically “contracted out” work in violation of collective bargaining agreement and that union unlawfully failed to take employees’ grievance to arbitration).

Attorneys’ Fees

Save Our Cumberland Mountains v. Hodel, 857 F.2d 1516 (D.C. Cir. 1988)(“SOCM”)(en banc)(public-interest attorneys entitled to receive attorney-fee awards for representation of “prevailing plaintiffs” based on “market rates” of similarly qualified attorneys; led to development of “matrix” of hourly rates for determining statutory fees in federal and local courts in District of Columbia and administrative proceedings).

Miscellaneous Civil Litigation

Atwater, et al. v. National Football League Players’ Association, et al., N.D.Ga. No. 1:06-CV-01510-JEC/ 11th Cir.No. 09-12556-B, 2007 WL 1020848 (March 27, 2009); 2009 WL 3254925 (March 27, 2009) (represented NFL Players’ Union in a suit brought by several members who claimed to have been defrauded of nearly $20 million when they invested in a hedge fund that was a Ponzi scheme. Following extensive discovery, the District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the NFLPA on grounds that Plaintiffs’ state law claims were preempted by federal labor law and, as Union members, their claims were also contractually foreclosed by the NFLPA Constitution and the Regulations applicable to its Financial Advisors Program. Case is now on appeal).

Tank Black v. National Football League Players Association, 87 F.Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 2000)(defeated challenge to NFLPA agent disciplinary system by unscrupulous agent who was ultimately sentenced to prison).

Poston v. National Football League Players’ Association, 2002 WL 31190142 (E.D.Va)(court rejected challenge to arbitrator’s decision imposing discipline on football player agent and granted NFLPA motion to enforce the award).

Sportsolution, Inc. v. National Football League Players Association, M.D. Fla. No. 98-01154-CV-ORL-22C, rev’d in part, vacated in part, 54 Fed. Appx. 689 (11th Cir. 2002)(represented union in defense of claims of breach of contract, promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment and prosecution of counterclaims; jury verdict rejected plaintiff’s claims in their entirety and found for our client on counterclaims; district court’s refusal to enter disgorgement order and injunctive relief was reversed).

Peterson v. Kennedy, 771 F.2d 1244 (9th Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1122 (1986)(following jury trial in San Diego, court ruled for our client and the Ninth Circuit affirmed, establishing widely followed principle that the performance of in-house attorneys for unions is governed exclusively by the duty of fair representation and is not subject to claims of legal malpractice).

Malchman v. Davis, 706 F.2nd 426 (2nd Cir. 1983), on remand, 588 F.Supp. 1047 (S.D.N.Y 1984), aff’d, 761 F.2nd 893 (2nd Cir. 1985), cert denied, 475 U.S. 1143 (1986)(represented group of intervenors in federal and New York courts challenging settlement of the largest class action ever certified as of that date).

Union Democracy

Sadlowski v. United Steelworkers, 457 U.S. 102 (1982)(together with the late Joe Rauh, represented union reformer in challenge to union rule prohibiting candidate for union office from receiving campaign contributions from nonmembers of union).

Brock and Tucker v. United Auto Workers, 682 F.Supp. 1415 (E.D.Mich.), dismissed as moot, 889 F.2d 685 (6th Cir. 1989)(represented UAW Reform Candidate for Regional Director in election dispute which Jerry Tucker won during DOL supervised re-run).

Regan v. Williams, 1986 WL 8413 (W.D. Pa. 1986)(secured preliminary injunction on behalf of officers of local union lifting unwarranted trusteeship imposed without hearing by United Steelworkers parent union).

Belue v. United Auto Workers of America, 699 F.Supp. 1398 (E.D.Mo. 1988)(plaintiffs successfully challenged imposition of trusteeship by International Union before its Public Review Board and in federal court).

Burch v. Watt, No. 78-1765 (D.D.C.) (jury verdict for union employee transferred in retaliation for supporting an anti-administration candidate).