Court Rules for Coast Guard Reservist in “National Emergency” Pay Dispute
We are beyond proud and happy to announce today's SCOTUS opinion in our client's favor, unambiguously holding that Federal civilian…
South Dakota Supreme Court USERRA case – 7 South Dakota Air National Guard (SDANG)
Hear the oral argument at the South Dakota Supreme Court for the USERRA case in which Bob and I represent 7 South…
Torres v. Texas Dept of Public Safety $2.4 Million Verdict
On September 29, 2023, a Nueces County jury awarded $2.4 million to LeRoy Torres in his wrongful termination case against…
USERRA Presentation for Family Services of Westchester, NY Vet2Vet Program
Brian Lawler's presentation including question and answer session about service members' rights under USERRA. https://youtu.be/xFN6W8IHdKw
Brian Lawler USERRA Court Victory (Case 6DCA Oral Argument)
To view this oral arguement click here. Please note that the arguement for this case ends at 33:18. Summary We…
SCOTUS Victory! Torres v. TX Dept of Public Safety
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-603_o758.pdf SCOTUS victory! I could not be happier to announce our 5-4 decision today in Torres v. Texas Dept of Public…
Supreme Court Hears an Army Reservist’s Case Involving Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq
https://www.youtube.com/embed/R77n8QQ9_SQ
Veterans exposed to burn pits push for health benefits
Mar. 25, 2022 - 4:39 - Attorney Brian Lawler and Le Roy Torres, co-founder of Burn Pits 360 Veterans Organization,…
Podcast: Army Reservist’s Iraq Burn Pit Suit Before Supreme Court
Supreme Court justices will consider a dispute over congressional powers to authorize discrimination suits against states brought by service members…
Arnold & Porter and Brian Lawler of Pilot Law, P.C. to Present Oral Arguments Before the U.S. Supreme Court in USERRA Case
OVERVIEW: Arnold & Porter will present oral arguments on behalf of Le Roy Torres before the U.S. Supreme Court, alongside…
Supreme Court USERRA Case Oral Arguments: Torres v. Texas Dept. of Public Safety, Case No. 20-603
I’m happy to announce we have an oral argument date at #scotus in Torres v. Texas Dept. of Public Safety, Case No.…
Federal Circuit Court of Appeals: Oral argument in Colicelli v. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Case No. 20-2048
https://pilotlawcorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/20-2048_12062021.mp3 Speaker 1: We have five cases on the calendar this morning. One from the Veteran's Court and one from…
20-16897 LNS Enterprises LLC v. Continental Motors, Inc
An appeal from the district court's order dismissing claims for lack of personal jurisdiction over defendants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiDf7jcXbF8
Is USERRA Unconstitutional? Fighting Back against a Texas Court’s Questionable Ruling
America’s military service people are crucial to our defense. However, millions of these unsung heroes work in the private sector…
Iraq Veteran’s Case Against Texas is Testing Job Protections for Homecoming Troops (USERRA)
Allie Morris Houston Chronicle Sep. 17, 2019 “AUSTIN — Le Roy Torres returned from war in Iraq with a lung…
Lawsuits: Federal Gov’t Fails To Protect Military Reservists Returning To Civilian Jobs
Federal law protects people serving in the guard and reserve from losing their job or being denied promotions because they…
Differential Pay for Federal Civilian Employees Who Are Called to the Colors (USERRA)
Differential Pay for Federal Civilian Employees under USERRA (PDF) “United States Court of Appeals O’Farrell v Department of Defense” to…
Ninth Circuit Affirms Employment Bonus for Air Force Officer
December 2017 – Mandy Brown The Ninth Court has armed a judgment in favor of a servicemember who argued that…
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms USERRA FedEx Victory
Huhmann v FedEx, et al., Southern District of California, Case No. 3:13-CV-00787-BAS-NLS On November 2, 2017, the United States Court…
USERRA Case: Huhmann v. FedEx goes to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Pilot Law’s recent USERRA case: Huhmann v. FedEx, resulted in a trial verdict in the Southern District of California in…
USERRA Class Action Lawsuit against Delta Air Lines
On February 13, 2017, we filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of potentially thousands of Delta Air Lines Inc.…
Differential Pay Verdict Update
As we previously reported on “The Truth About Differential Pay”, in 2015 we obtained a favorable differential pay verdict on…
Brown Field Mid-Air Collision NTSB Preliminary Report
The NTSB has released its Preliminary Report on the Brown Field mid-air collision which is attached below. The Preliminary Report…
Video: Aviation lawyer weighs in on deadly Otay Mesa plane crash
Brian visited Fox 5 News to discuss the recent Otay Mesa plane crash.
Mid-Air Collision at Brown Field, California
On August 16, 2015 shortly after 11:00 Pacific Daylight Time, a Cessna 172 and a Sabreliner business jet collided in…
The Truth About Differential Pay
We recently obtained a favorable differential pay verdict on behalf of one of our Reservist clients. The case, which concerned…
Jeffrey Church v. City of Reno, et al.
https://youtu.be/oXK8GPIw-CY An appeal from the dismissal of an action under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Watch the…
Huhmann v. FedEx, et al. (USERRA)
Recent USERRA Victory Huhmann v FedEx, et al., Southern District of California, Case No. 3:13-CV-00787-BAS-NLS On April 1, 2015, we…
USERRA Harassment, Hostile Work Environment and Available Damages or Equitable Relief
Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”)[1] as a successor to a long line…
Malaysia Flight 370 relatives notified that all persons onboard perished
“The prime minister of Malaysia announced in Kuala Lumpur that there was no longer any doubt that the missing Malaysian…
Flight 370 begs the question, how can air traffic control lose contact with a commercial airplane?
Why can transponders on commercial airplanes be switched off? Gregg Easterbrook offers a thought-provoking commentary on this issue and a…
Flight 370 begs the question, how can air traffic control lose contact with a commercial airplane?
Why can transponders on commercial airplanes be switched off? Gregg Easterbrook offers a thought-provoking commentary on this issue and a…
Lessons learned from Air France Flight 447 salvage and investigation could shed light on lost Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
“There is a precedent for a modern jetliner to fall from the sky while ‘in the cruise’ and lie hidden…
Lessons learned from Air France Flight 447 salvage and investigation could shed light on lost Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
“There is a precedent for a modern jetliner to fall from the sky while ‘in the cruise’ and lie hidden…
Malaysia Airlines loses contact with its Boeing 777 — 239 souls on board, 227 passengers, 12 crew — aircraft remains missing
“A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing over the South China Sea on…
Oil slicks first sign of crash involving lost Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777
“Vietnamese air force planes on Saturday spotted two large oil slicks in the area where the plane vanished in the…
Oil slicks first sign of crash involving lost Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777
“Vietnamese air force planes on Saturday spotted two large oil slicks in the area where the plane vanished in the…
Small plane crash near Truckee, 1 fatality and survivor in critial condition
Update: “The woman who died was 55-year-old Darla Sue Farnell of Tahoe City, said Placer County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Dena…
3 persons killed and 3 injured in Hawaii commuter crash, 2nd such crash since December
“An outbound flight from Hawaii’s Lanai Island crashed about a mile from the airport, killing three people and leaving three…
2 men killed, 1 woman seriously injured in Florida Panhandle Robinson R44 helicopter crash
“Two Tallahassee men were killed Saturday night in a [Robinson R44, 10602] helicopter crash in Wakulla County, but a woman…
Boeing’s Dreamliner continues to be plagued by maintenance issues
“An Air India Boeing 787-800 [Dreamliner], registration VT-ANJ performing flight AI-301 from Melbourne, VI (Australia) to Delhi (India) with 215…
Fatal Bell 206 Helicopter Crash in Colorado Kills Three People
“A veteran Colorado pilot known for helping the local sheriff’s department with helicopter rescues was killed Monday after his chopper…
Customs helicopter hard landing near Texas border checkpoint injures three
“Authorities are investigating what caused a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter to go down near Falfurrias. The CBP…
Army special operations helicopter training flight hard landing in Savannah — 1 killed, 2 injured
“A member of an elite Army helicopter unit was killed and two crew members suffered injuries when their aircraft slammed…
Navy fighter jet crashes off Virginia Beach, pilot ejects and is in critical condition
“A Navy fighter jet crashed Wednesday in Atlantic waters off Virginia and the lone pilot was in critical condition after…
All Onboard Perish in Germany Cessna Citation Corporate Jet Crash
“A Cessna Citation I/SP corporate jet, registered N452TS, crashed while on approach to Trier-Föhren Airport in Germany. All four on…
Four Airmen Killed in Air Force Helicopter Crash in the UK
“A U.S. Air Force helicopter on a training mission out of an eastern British base crashed in a bird sanctuary…
One Dead, One Missing, and Three Injured in Navy Helicopter Crash off Virginia Beach
“One crew member is dead and another remains missing after a Norfolk, Va.-based US Navy helicopter and its five-man crew…
Corporate Jet Crash at Aspen — 1 Dead, 2 injured, Airport Closed for 2 Days
“A Canadair Challenger 601 corporate jet, reported by Flightaware to be N115WF, sustained substantial damage in a landing accident at…
Five Passengers on Delta Flight Injured due to Turbulence
“A Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-90, registration N960DN performing flight DL-1751 from Minneapolis,MN to Las Vegas,NV (USA), was enroute near…
CEO of Mallen Industries among Two Fatalities in Georgia Raytheon Business Jet Crash
“The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office has identified one of the two people killed in Tuesday night’s crash of a…
Six U.S. Soldiers Killed and One Critically Injured in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash
Update: A Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk crashed killing Chief Warrant Officer 2 Randy L. Billings, 34, of Heavener, Okla.; Chief Warrant…
Two Crewmembers Injured in Japan Navy Helicopter Emergency Landing
“A U.S. Navy Knighthawk helicopter crash landed in an empty area of reclaimed land about 10 miles southwest of Yokosuka…
Hawaii Health Director Killed and Eight Persons Injured in Makani Kai Air Crash off Hawaii
On Wednesday December 11, 2013, a Cessna Grand Caravan C208, operated by Makani Kai Air, crashed in the ocean about…
Two Persons Injured in Montana Plane Crash
On December 9, 2013, a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron 58P passenger airplane with five people on board landed hard and veered…
Maintenance Problems Suspected in Fatal Puerto Rico IBC Airways Crash
“A U.S. co-pilot who died this week in a small plane crash near Puerto Rico’s north coast had previously expressed…
Heroic Passenger Saves Fellow Survivors of Fatal Alaska Commercial Cessna Crash
On Friday, November 29, 2013, a “Cessna 208B Grand Caravan operated by Era Alaska crashed near Saint Mary’s Airport, Alaska.…
Marine Officer Dies in a Plane Crash in North Carolina
“Major Luke Parker, 37, of Bandera, Texas, died in a private plane crash in Kenansville Sunday evening after taking off…
Fatal Learjet Crash off the Coast of Ft. Lauderdale
On Tuesday night, November 19, 2013, a Learjet 35, registration number XAUSD (Mexican), with two pilots and two medical passengers,…
Update: Boeing 737 Crashes on Landing in Russia–Explodes on Impact–No Survivors
“A Boeing 737 crashed on landing in the Russian city of Kazan on Sunday, killing all 50 people on board,…
NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on Fatal McCall Aviation Crash in Idaho
“On November 6, 2013 about 0910 mountain standard time, a Cessna 206, N206KL, impacted terrain about 10 miles east of…
Dr. Perry Inhofe, son of Senator Jim Inhofe, dies in a plane crash
The Secretary of Defense confirmed the son of Senator Jim Inhofe was killed in a weekend plane crash in northeast…
Flight Crew Injured in Helicopter Maintenance Test Flight Crash
On Saturday, November 9, 2013, a Life Air Rescue medical helicopter, Eurocopter EC-135 registered as N911KB, crashed during a maintenance…
Five Dead and Two Injured in Northwest Ontario Plane Crash
“A Bearskin [Airlines] Swearingen SA-227AC Metro III, registration C-FFZN performing flight JV-311 from Sioux Lookout, ON to Red Lake, ON…
Flight Instructor and Prominent Businessman Perish in Missouri Piper PA-32 Crash
On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, Robert Groh, 64, president and CEO of GEO-Synthetics of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and James Quinn, 66,…
Seven Injured in Boeing 767 Post-landing Fire
On Monday, November 4, 2013, a Royal Air Maroc Boeing 767 landed uneventfully at Trudeau Airport in Canada with 258…
Three Dead and One Seriously Injured in a Piper PA-23 Crash in Rural Minnesota
On Friday, November 1st, 2013, three persons were killed and another was seriously injured when a Piper PA-23 crashed in…
NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on Fatal Medicial Helicopter Crash in Tennessee
“On October 22, 2013, about 0605 central daylight time (CDT), a Eurocopter AS 350 B3, N353HW, impacted trees and terrain…
Bell 206 Jet Ranger Helicopter Crash in Oregon Injures All Three Persons On Board
On October 28, 2013, a Bell 206 Jet Ranger clipped power lines and crashed into a River in Douglas County,…
NTSB Releases Preliminary Report for Santa Monica Fatal Cessna Crash
“On September 29, 2013, at 1820 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 525A Citation, N194SJ, veered off the right side of…
Medical Helicopter Crashes in Tennessee Killing All Three on Board
“A medical helicopter crashed on its way to pick up an ailing child in southwestern Tennessee Tuesday morning, [October 22nd],…
Lao Airlines Plane Crash in Laos Kills 49
On Wednesday, October 16, a Lao Airlines flight crashed into the Mekong River in Laos killing all 49 persons onboard.…
One Dead, Two Injured in Gulf of Mexico Helicopter Crash – Update
NTSB Preliminary Report: “On October 8, 2013, about 0730 central daylight time, a Bell 206L-3, N54LP, owned and operated by…
Hot Air Balloon Catches Fire During the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival
Last week several people were seriously injured during the Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Festival. Witnesses to one incident reported that…
One Dead, Two Injured in a Helicopter Crash in the Gulf of Mexico
Early this morning, October 9th, a helicopter crashed shortly after taking off from an oil rig in the Gulf of…
San Diego woman among the victims in the Santa Monica Cessna crash
Update 10/7/13: On Sunday, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed Lucas Benjamin, 28, of Malibu; Lauren Winkler, 28, of Irvine;…
Helicopter Pilot in Fort Myers, Florida Sustains Serious Injuries
On September 29, 2013, near Fort Myers, Florida, a helicopter pilot sustained serious injuries after apparently losing power at a…
San Diego-based Navy Helicopter Crashed in the Red Sea
Updated News: “Three crew members are accounted for and stable. Search efforts continue for the two remaining.” (source: https://www.utsandiego.com/). Original…
Small Passenger Jet Crashes Into Hangar at Santa Monica Airport
Updated News on Santa Monica Cessna Crash The LA Coroner’s Office determined that two men and two women were on…
MH-60S Knighthawk Crashes in the Red Sea with Five Souls on Board
On September 22, 2013, a MH-60S “Knighthawk” helicopter crashed in the Red Sea in support of US military operations in…
Medical Helicopter Hard Landing Results in Injuries to Pilot
Updated News: Engine Failure in Flight, pilot auto rotated: The preliminary NTSB Report indicated that the pilot auto rotated to…
Fatal Helicopter Crash in Black Rock Canyon Arizona
On September 21, 2013, near Black Rock Canyon, AZ the pilot and passenger of a Bell UH-1 “Huey” died in…
One Day in Hawaii: Two Helicopter Incidents & Multiple Persons Injured
On Thursday September 12, 2013, in Kauai, Hawaii, there were two separate flight-related incidents. The first incident involved a bird…
A Fatal Helicopter Wire Strike in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
On August 31, 2013, near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, two passengers and the pilot died when a private helicopter…
Fatal Logging Helicopter Crash in Oregon
On September 16, 2013, near Idanha, Oregon, the pilot of a Bell UH-1B “Huey” died in a crash while conducting…
A Volunteer Falls from a Helicopter to His Death in Sequoia National Park, California
On Thursday September 12, 2013, in Sequoia National Park, a High Sierra volunteer fell to his death from a California…
Penn St Law Press Release
Clinic efforts instrumental in passage of new law clarifying USERRA Clinics:Civil Rights Appellate ClinicClinic efforts instrumental in passage of new…
Penn State Law Press Release
Students Urge Supreme Court to hear military harassment case Download and read
Continental Airlines, Pilots and Pilot Applicants file class action lawsuit
Lawsuit against Airline alleges multiple violations of the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Act Press Release Continental Airlines pilots and…