After an attack on the job, Justin Driskell takes his case against Summit Contracting, Inc. to the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court in the District Court of Western North Carolina. Listen to court proceedings represented by Josh Van Kampen.
Joshua Van Kampen and Nicole Haynes had the privilege of arguing before the Fourth Circuit yesterday in the case of Driskell vs. Summit Contracting, Inc. The case hosted of impactful issues including: (i) whether the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act ("REDA") covers internal reporting activity regarding health and safety issues; (ii) whether REDA covers firings in anticipation of a workers comp claim even where the employee never threatened to file a claim; and (iii) whether firing an employee for contacting the police following an assault by a supervisor constitutes wrongful discharge in violation of NC public policy. Nicole tackled a tricky election of remedy issue (whether a plaintiff can recover attorneys’ fees under REDA and elect punitive damages under the NC wrongful discharge) and whether backpay should have been decided by the jury and/or increased by the judge. All those issues (at varying levels) were argued in 20 minutes. Judge Diaz, Judge Thacker and Judge Trotter were on the panel.
Listen to Court Proceedings From Driskell vs Summit Contracting, Inc.Driskell vs Summit Contracting, Inc. Case Summary