California shields public sector unions from Supreme Court ruling

California has found itself in a legal standoff against the federal government and Trump administration over a variety of issues, but one could affect union workers who want to decline union membership.

“California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a law that aims to give public employee unions legal cover from potentially expensive lawsuits demanding that they repay certain fees to workers that the Supreme Court in June determined were unconstitutional,” reports The Fresno Bee.

“The law, which takes effect immediately, says unions and public agencies cannot be held liable for fees that unions collected before the Supreme Court ruling in Janus vs. AFSCME on June 27 of this year.”

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision ended a 41-year precedent that allowed public sector unions to collect “fair share” fees from workers who declined to join a labor organization but were still represented, according to the newspaper.

President-Elect May Continue Lawsuits During Term

In this Dec. 28, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump listens to a question as he speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump gave a videotaped deposition on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, for a lawsuit stemming from a clash with a celebrity restaurateur at his new Washington hotel. It was a rare legal proceeding for a president-elect or sitting president that highlights the legal woes that could follow Trump to the Oval Office. Photo Credit, San Francisco Chronicle file photo

In this Dec. 28, 2016 file photo, President-elect Donald Trump listens to a question as he speaks to reporters at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump gave a videotaped deposition on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, for a lawsuit stemming from a clash with a celebrity restaurateur at his new Washington hotel. It was a rare legal proceeding for a president-elect or sitting president that highlights the legal woes that could follow Trump to the Oval Office. Photo Credit, San Francisco Chronicle file photo

President-elect Donald Trump may be the first president to conduct multiple lawsuits while in office. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Trump “… sat for an hour at Trump Tower to give testimony in a lawsuit he filed against Jose Andres after the chef cancelled plans to open a Spanish-themed restaurant at a new Washington hotel. Andres pulled out after Trump, in declaring his candidacy for president, called some Mexican immigrants “rapists” and said some were bringing drugs and crime to the U.S.”

The newspaper backgrounded that “… under the doctrine of immunity, presidents cannot be sued for actions they take in carrying out presidential duties. But anything outside that is open season. In its 1997 decision in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case against Bill Clinton, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents can be sued while in office for actions unrelated to official acts.”

Given his vast business empire and several ongoing civil actions, its expected that the new president may be doing depositions fairly routinely.

Read more here:
Trump, amid legal battles, gives deposition against chef

Trump U. Deposition Video May Become Public

Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Ever wonder what a Donal Trump lawsuit deposition looks like? If so, you might find out soon as several news organizations and others are asking that sworn deposition video from the “Trump University” litigation are made public. At issue are actually two cases where people who bought into the educational program claim they were duped.

Transcripts are already public. The Courthouse News reports from San Diego, backgrounding that: “… many legal experts agree that the facts surrounding the case are unsavory, particularly as Trump University was billed as a university when in actuality it was a three-day business seminar that attendees paid around $2,000 to attend. During the seminars, which were often run by salespeople rather than real estate experts, attendees faced high-pressure sales techniques aimed at getting them to buy a Trump Gold Premium package, which cost $35,000.”

The CN also said that “… the package guaranteed a mentor would help students break into individual real estate markets, but the plaintiffs in both cases claim this mentorship never occurred as promised. However, the experts are not convinced the brouhaha necessarily means the plaintiffs are assured a victory.”

An expert cited in the CN report says facts are not really at issue, but rather if a “reasonable person” might rely upon the marketing to make a purchase decision. The Trump side is seeking a summary judgment from the court and the current fight is over whether to make the videotapes of the depositions part of the evidentiary record – which would likely make the public. The CN notes that “… a slate of media companies, including the Washington Post and Fox News, has intervened, asking the tapes be disclosed to the public. A hearing on the matter is set for July 13.”

As usual, the CN is all over the case: CNS – Transcripts Show Defiant, Evasive Trump