Hearst v. Progressive Foam Technologies, Inc., et al, No. 10-1253 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseAppellant, who had been on a medical leave of absence from appellee for nearly four months, sued appellee alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1), and the benefits-termination notice provisions of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act ("COBRA"), 29 U.S.C. 1166(a)(4)(A), when appellee fired him for job abandonment. Appellant appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of appellee on each of his claims. The court held that the district court properly granted summary judgment to appellee on appellant's interference claim under the FMLA where appellant failed to demonstrate any prejudice as a result of his firing on May 1, 2007. The court also held that the district court properly granted summary judgment to appellee on appellant's claim that appellee failed to provide him with notice of the termination of his benefits as required by COBRA where appellant failed to show that a genuine factual dispute existed regarding the means used by appellee to send the notice and where the undisputed facts showed that appellee used a notice method "reasonably calculated to reach" appellant.
Court Description: Civil case- Family and Medical Leave Act. Plaintiff had a medical condition rendering him unable to work for substantially longer than the FMLA twelve-week period, and he could not show any prejudice from his termination; defendant was entitled to summary judgment on plaintiff's COBRA claim as the undisputed facts showed it used a notice method "reasonably calculated to reach" plaintiff and advise him of his rights.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.