You Have the Right to the Silent Treatment

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb proposes the psychological effects of the “silent treatment” as a possible reason that arrested individuals who understand their Miranda rights nevertheless confess to the police. Rather than seeking to dispute or displace other explanations of the phenomenon, Colb suggests that when police leave a suspect alone in his cell, he may experience their exit as the silent treatment and confess as an attempt to end it.

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Quezada v. Bechtel OG & C Construction Services, Inc.

Docket: 19-20042

Opinion Date: January 14, 2020

Judge: James L. Dennis

Areas of Law: Arbitration & Mediation

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's confirmation of an arbitrator's award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Bechtel and its former employee entered arbitration on the employee's claims of disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, and retaliation. The court held that the district court correctly concluded it had jurisdiction to entertain the motions submitted by both parties. On the merits, the court held that Bechtel's first argument, that the arbitrator exceeded his authority by misapplying Fifth Circuit law, misunderstands the limited review of arbitration awards under the FAA. The court was also correct in denying vacatur based on Bechtel's claim that the arbitration rules agreed to by the parties required the arbitrator to follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which, according to Bechtel, did not authorize the arbitrator to reconsider its interim award that only granted $500 in nominal damages. The court explained that Bechtel's argument ignores the fact that the employee dispute resolution program also contains a provision stating that either party may file a motion for reconsideration with the arbitrator.

BP Exploration & Production, Inc. v. Claimant ID 100354107

Dockets: 18-31115, 18-31118, 18-31122, 18-31123, 18-31128

Opinion Date: January 14, 2020

Judge: Leslie H. Southwick

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Energy, Oil & Gas Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of discretionary review of five awards made to Walmart under the Settlement Agreement arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The court held that there was no showing of a misapplication or contradiction of the Settlement Agreement requiring the district court's review. In this case, the Claims Administrator conducted a searching review of the financial statements Walmart provided from both its old and new accounting system, and the PWC accountants brought specific clarification questions to Walmart regarding the changes. Furthermore, Walmart responded to the satisfaction of the Claims Administrator. The court rejected BP's claim that there was a split Appeal Panels on how to address changes in accounting systems like the one at issue here. The court saw BP's claim as one challenging the Appeal Panels' discretionary decision that raises the correctness of a discretionary administrative decision on the facts of a single claimant's case, and held that the district court's denial of a request for discretionary review of such a decision was not an abuse of discretion.

Clark v. Champion National Security, Inc.

Docket: 18-11613

Opinion Date: January 14, 2020

Judge: Don R. Willett

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law

The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of Champion's motion for summary judgment on workplace-discrimination claims brought by plaintiff, an employee, who alleged that he was fired because of a diabetes-related condition. Champion claimed that plaintiff was sleeping at his desk during work hours, an immediately terminable offense. The court held that the district court did not err in finding no direct evidence of discrimination on the basis of disability. The court also agreed with the district court that the evidence suggested that plaintiff could not perform the essential functions of the job with or without an accommodation. The court also held that plaintiff's disability-based claim failed because any harassment plaintiff alleged was not severe or pervasive and did not create an abusive working environment. Furthermore, plaintiff failed to show that the harassment was based on his disability. The court held that the district court did not err in finding no failure to accommodate plaintiff's disability and no failure to engage in an interactive process. Even if plaintiff was a qualified individual, his failure-to-accommodate claim failed because he failed to carry his burden to show that he requested reasonable accommodations. The court further held that plaintiff failed to show a prima facie case of retaliation. Finally, the district court did not err by denying plaintiff's claims for damages.