Law Commons^™

Darned If You Due Process, Darned If You Don't! Understanding The Due Process Dilemma For Punitive Damages In Title Vii Class Actions, Paul Edgar Harold, Tracy L. Cole

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

When Congress expanded the remedies available to Title VII the plaintiffs in the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to include compensatory and punitive damages, it did not realize that it was creating a minefield for certifying would-be Title VII class actions. The Fifth Circuit thoroughly explored many of the new pitfalls and hazards in its landmark opinion in Allison v. Citgo Petroleum Corp. This article attempts to critically evaluate a recent post-Allison trend whereby Title VII plaintiffs seeking class certification have foregone their claims for compensatory damages while still seeking punitive damages. Plaintiffs, relying on the Supreme Court's recent cases …

Employment & Disability Law—Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990—The Weight Of Personal Responsibility: Obesity, Causation, And Protected Physical Impairments, Matthew Glover

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

On July 26, 1990, Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which became effective two years later. Because the ADA lacked a list of all the disabilities it covered, courts have considered obesity and morbid obesity to be disabilities in some cases but not in others, notwithstanding the legislation’s desire for clarity and consistency in eliminating discrimination against the individuals with disabilities.

There seems to be a trend towards presuming that obesity is a matter of personal responsibility rather than a protected disability. The most recent developments in obesity jurisprudence have held that morbid obesity—absent evidence of physiological causation—was …