Green Jacobson P.C.

The duty of fair representation class action brought by Green Jacobson on behalf of a class of former TWA pilots against their former union, the Air Line Pilots Association, International (“ALPA”), is heading into its final days. The defendant, ALPA, will present its final witnesses by deposition tomorrow, July 7. Allen Press and Joe Jacobson will present a rebuttal witness on Monday, July 11. The parties will then go immediately into closing argument, followed by the jury instructions, and deliberations.

In an interesting reversal of the practice in Missouri, in New Jersey civil defendants present their closing first, followed by the plaintiffs. Allen’s reaction to the judge’s mention in court today of the practice caused the judge to remark that he looked like he had died and gone to heaven.

The trial is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey.

Dozens of pilots, members of the class, have attended most days of the five weeks of trial to date. A particularly large crowd of pilots is anticipated for closing arguments Monday.

Allen Press gave the plaintiffs’ opening statement and began examining the first witness today in the New Jersey federal court where Green Jacobson is representing a plaintiffs class of former TWA pilots against their former labor union, the Airline Pilots Association, International (“ALPA”), in a case alleging that ALPA violated its duty of fair representation to the pilots in connection with the 2001 American Airlines acquisition of the former TWA airline business.

Allen is being assisted at trial by Joe Jacobson as well as by lawyers at our Philadelphia- and New Jersey-based co-counsel, Trujillo Rodriguez & Richards, LLC..

Nearly every lawyer at the firm has worked on the TWA pilots case in the five years that Green Jacobson has been co-counsel for the plaintiffs, and the months leading up to this trial have required an exceptional outpouring of effort by most of our lawyers.

The trial is expected to take between six and eight weeks. Press anticipates completing the plaintiffs’ case within two weeks.

Joe Jacobson argued an appeal today on behalf of former Anheuser-Busch Entertainment Companies executive Richard Angevine and proposed class of former A-B salaried employees. The proposed class consisted of participants in the A-B Salaried Employees Pension Plan whose employment with the A-B group of companies ended within three years after the Belgium-Brazilian brewing giant InBev acquired A-B.

While the lawsuit asserts the legal claim that these employees are entitled under the Pension Plan to a pension enhancement when their employment with the A-B group terminated upon the sale or spin-off of their employer, even though they continued to have a job with the new company, the issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit involves a procedural aspect of the federal pension law known as ERISA. The issue on appeal is whether the employees are required to file an administrative claim for enhanced benefits and have that claim denied before they can file suit, or whether they can file suit immediately without filing such a claim based upon the Pension Plan’s and A-B InBev’s statements published to them before the spin-off that they would not be entitled to and would not be receiving the pension enhancement.

Notably, every former A-B group employee who has applied for an enhanced pension benefit under these circumstances has had the claim rejected for the very reasons stated in the pre-spin-off statements made by the Plan and A-B InBev.

Green Jacobson is representing the former A-B Entertainment Companies employees jointly with Clayton law firm Stone, Leyton & Gershman, P.C.

Joe Jacobson was in federal court in St. Louis today to start the trial in a long-pending patent infringement lawsuit on behalf of Green Jacobson’s client, Green Edge Enterprises.

Green Edge is the owner of a U.S. patent for the manufacture and sale of colored rubber mulch, a recycled product that imitates and on viewing is indistinguishable from wooden garden mulch.

The lawsuit alleges that a Florida manufacturer of colored rubber mulch has been infringing Green Edge’s patent since 2001. The Florida manufacturer contends that Green Edge’s patent is invalid.

The trial is anticipated to take up to two weeks.

Joe Jacobson argued an appeal today on behalf of St. Louis County and the St. Louis County Convention and Visitors Commission in an attempt to reinstate a lawsuit brought by the governmental bodies against some 20 internet travel companies to collect hotel and tourism taxes owed by the companies.

Green Jacobson had been retained by the County and Commission to collect the unpaid taxes from the internet travel companies. While the case was pending, the Missouri General Assembly passed a law stating that internet travel companies were not responsible for collecting and paying these taxes. The appeal challenges the constitutionality of the new law under the Missouri Constitution, asserting that it violates constitutional provisions prohibiting the General Assembly from releasing companies from liabilities to counties and other governmental entities, and that the process by which the new law was added to a pending bill was also defective, in violation of Missouri’s constitutional “original purpose,” “one subject,” and “clear title” requirements.