An Employee’s Bankruptcy Can Assist New Mexico Employers Defend Against The Employee’s Claims
When defending against an employee’s claims, an initial step that every employer should take is to determine if the employee has filed a Chapter 7 Voluntary Petition for bankruptcy in the recent past. If an employee filed for bankruptcy and failed to…
Dependent Indian Communities: Existential Determination Impacts State and Federal (and Tribal?) Jurisdiction
On June 15, 2015, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a decision that clarified the Indian country status of a certain parcel of land in New Mexico that had been the subject of conflicting state and federal court decisions. In State of New…
Tomas Garcia Named Young Lawyer of the Year
Tomas J. Garcia, an associate at Modrall Sperling, was named “Young Lawyer of the Year 2015” by the New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association (NMDLA) at their annual meeting…
Southern Ute Sues to Bar Applying BLM’s Fracking Rule to Tribal Oil and Gas
The Case: The Southern Ute Indian Tribe (Tribe) filed suit on June 18, 2015 in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado[1. Southern Ute Indian Tribe v. U. S. Department of the Interior, D. Colo. No. 1:15-cv-01303.] against the Department…
New Mexico Employers Can Limit Liability Under The Faragher-Ellerth Defense
In 1998, the United States Supreme Court created an affirmative defense for employers who have been sued for discrimination or harassment and who can show that “(1) the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any . . . harassing…
New Rules For Participation In Employer Wellness Programs Proposed
Employer wellness programs are generally designed as a way to improve employee health and to reduce health care costs to employers. Some wellness programs ask employees to engage in healthier behavior (for example, by becoming more active, not smoking or eating better),…
Pueblo of Jemez v. United States: Tenth Circuit Resurrects Land Claim – Unique Circumstance or Cloudy Title on the Horizon?
On June 26, 2015, in Pueblo of Jemez v. the United States[1. 790 F.3d 1143 (10th Cir. 2015).] the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that had dismissed the Pueblo of Jemez’ (Pueblo) claim seeking the return…
Susan Miller Bisong to Present at Water Law CLE
Date: September 16th, 2015 Location: MCM Elegante 2020 Menaul, NE Albuquerque, NM 87107 Time: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. “Establishing the Validity of Agricultural Water Rights,” presented by Susan Miller Bisong, Chair of Water Law Practice Group, Modrall Sperling, kicks off the…
A Great 186 Years – And Counting!
Earlier this year, both John Cooney and Ken Harrigan reached their 50th year of practicing law with Modrall Sperling. Of course, much of the reason for their lengthy…
