Since the landmark 1985 Kansas Gas & Electric brief that helped convince the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to protect whistleblowers who report internally, the Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto attorneys, associated with the National Whistleblower Center, have submitted numerous Amicus Curiae briefs in precedent-setting cases around the country. Below are amicus curiae briefs submitted by the attorneys at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, through the National Whistleblower Center:
- A new docket entry, “Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Alito, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Barrett, J., joined.” has been added for Trevor Murray, Petitioner v. UBS Securities, LLC, et al.
- A new docket entry, “Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Sotomayor, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Alito, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Barrett, J., joined.” has been added for Trevor Murray, Petitioner v. UBS Securities, LLC, et al. Nathan Van Buren v. United States of America. KKC founding partner Stephen Kohn, Associate Attorney Todd Yoder, and Legal Fellow Noah Lapidus worked on this brief with the National Whistleblower Center. In the brief, NWC challenged a ruling by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which joined the First, Fifth, and Seventh Circuits in holding an employee liable under the CFAA for accessing information on a workplace computer for an improper purpose even though the employee was granted access to that information.
- Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States, ex rel. Hunt. Represented amicus curiae in case filed to the Supreme Court on behalf of a whistleblower, Justices unanimously ruled in favor of whistleblowers filing under the False Claims Act.
- Eller v. Idaho State Police. Victory in Idaho Supreme Court setting precedent expanding damage recoverable to whistleblowers who were fired. Read the amicus curiae brief and the court’s ruling.
- Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States, ex rel. Hunt. Represented amicus curiae in case filed to the Supreme Court on behalf of a whistleblower, Justices unanimously ruled in favor of whistleblowers filing under the False Claims Act.
- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers. The KKC lawyers vigorously fought for the protection of internal whistleblowers but the Supreme Court rejected these arguments. However, the ruling of the Supreme Court sent a clear message that SEC whistleblowers filing under the Dodd Frank Act should report directly to the SEC to avoid retaliation. Read the amicus curiae brief and the court’s ruling.
- Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar. Represented amicus curiae in major precedent in unanimous Supreme Court ruling upholding False Claims Act qui tam whistleblowers’ right to pursue claims even if the violations were not explicitly set forth in contract. Read the amicus curiae brief and the court’s ruling.
- Genberg v. Porter. Represented amicus curiae in precedent-setting case under the Sarbanes Oxley Act setting forth the reasonable belief test. Read the amicus curiae brief and the court’s ruling.
- Darin Jones v. Dept. of Justice. In Darin Jones v. Dept. of Justice, the whistleblower sought protection after he endured retaliation on the job for disclosing over $40 million worth of improper spending.
- State Farm Fire and Casualty Company v. U.S. ex rel. Rigsby. Represented public interest group in amicus curiae filing opposing the automatic dismissal of False Claims Act cases in which seal was violated.
- Parkinson v. Department of Justice. Filed an amicus curiae brief in a case before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The brief was filed in Parkinson v. Department of Justice in support of John C. Parkinson, a former FBI special agent and Iraq war veteran.
- Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter. Filed amicus which delivers a full rebuttal of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) and Kellogg Brown & Root’s (KBR) attack on the integrity of whistleblowers.
- Day v. Dept. of Homeland Security. Represented public interest group in Amicus Curiae brief successfully arguing that certain provisions of Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act were clarification of existing law justifying application to pending cases.
- Wiest v. Lynch, No. 11-4257 (argued). Argued case on behalf of public interest amicus curiae establishing favorable precedent on standard of proof for a protected disclosure under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. (3d Cir. Mar. 19, 2013)
- Lawson v. FMR LLC (Fidelity Investments). Represented amicus curiae in victorious Supreme Court case expanding scope for employees under the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Read the amicus curiae brief and the court’s ruling.
- King v. Department of the Air Force. On April 12, 2013, the KKC attorneys, on behalf of the National Whistleblower Center, filed an Amicus Curiae brief with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), in the case of King v. Department of the Air Force. At issue is whether the provision of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (“WPEA”) regarding compensatory damages applies to all current cases pending before the MSPB. This brief strongly urged the MSPB to retroactively apply the WPEA to all pending cases. The MSPB’s decision will impact the fate of federal employees and whistleblowers that filed claims or suffered retaliation before the WEPA was signed into law on November 27, 2012.
- Insigna v. IRS. Filed amicus curiae brief in major tax court case on delay of payments of rewards to whistleblowers.
- Sylvester v. Parexel International LLC. 2007-SOX-39, 42 (argued). Argued case key case establishing the controlling precedent on standards for raising a protected disclosure under corporate whistleblower laws on behalf of public interest amicus curiae.
- Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper, No. 10-1024. Filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the plaintiff in a Privacy Act case, where the Supreme Court reviewed whether or not the act permits the recovery of damages for non-pecuniary harm, such as mental and emotional injuries, under the Act’s “actual damages” provision. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(g)(4)(A).
- Villanueva v. Core Laboratories NV, ARB No. 09-108, ALJ No. 2009-SOX-006. Amicus brief argues that Villanueva’s case does not raise issues of extraterritorial application of SOX since his protected activity consisted of emails sent to the U.S., and the decision to fire him was made in the U.S. In the alternative, it argues that the very nature of SOX (enacted after Enron and other companies abused off-shore subsidiaries to defraud shareholders) requires that SOX apply to all subsidiaries of companies traded in the U.S. stock markets. This argument builds on the ARB’s decision in Johnson v. Siemens Building Technologies, ARB No. 08-032, ALJ No. 2005-SOX-0151 (ARB March 31, 2011). In Johnson, the ARB held that SOX has always protected the employees of subsidiaries of publicly traded companies.
- Tides v. The Boeing Company, Case No. 10-35238. Submitted an amicus brief arguing that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) can protect corporate whistleblowers who make disclosures through the media.
- KKC submitted an amicus curie brief on the issue of whether subsidiaries are covered by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Johnson v. Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Review Board.
- KKC wrote an amicus curie brief in Bechtel v. Competitive Technologies Inc., U.S. Department of Labor Administrative Review Board. The issue addressed was regarding the burden of proof for proving retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
- EEOC v. Waffle House, 534 U.S. 279. Representation of public interest Amicus Curiae in case concerning impact of an arbitration agreement on EEOC’s authority to seek relief for victims of discrimination. (Supreme Court supported employee)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Waffle House, 534 U.S. 279, 122 S.Ct. 724. Represented public interest group as Amicus Curiae in case concerning impact of an arbitration agreement on EEOC’s authority to seek relief for victims of discrimination.
- Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. U.S. ex rel. Stevens, 529 U.S. 765. Represented public interest group in Amicus Curiae brief filed in case upholding the constitutionality of key provisions of the False Claims Act.
- In Beck v. Prupis, 529 U.S. 494, KKC submitted an amicus curie brief supporting whistleblower claims under RICO. The Supreme Court ruled against the employee, but Congress fixed the problem under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
- Haddle v. Garrison, 525 U.S. 121. Lead attorney for public interest Amicus Curiae in case establishing employee-witness protection under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(2).
- English v. General Electric Co., 110 S. Ct. 2270, 2277. Represented Amicus Curiae in U.S. Supreme Court case rejecting the federal preemption doctrine in state public policy discharge cases.
- Kansas Gas & Electric v. Brock, 780 F.2d 1505 (10th Cir.) Represented public interest amicus curiae in precedent setting case developing the law protecting internal corporate whistleblowers.
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