October 6, 2021
Employment Law Team Wins Dismissal of Family Medical Leave Act Case Against Regional Restaurant Group
Peyton Smith, Joshua Metcalf, and Molly McNair recently won summary judgment in a Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) case for a regional restaurant group. The plaintiff claimed that he had been wrongly terminated in retaliation for his alleged request for FMLA leave. FormanWatkins filed an early motion for summary judgment, submitting declarations and documentary evidence firmly establishing that the defendant terminated the plaintiff for non-retaliatory reasons. After reviewing the briefing submitted by both parties, Judge Tom Lee of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The Court agreed that the plaintiff had failed to demonstrate that the defendant’s reason for terminating him was pretext for retaliation, and dismissed the case with prejudice.