Supreme Court of California
Murray v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., S162570
In plaintiff's suit against Alaska Airlines claiming wrongful termination and retaliation for whistleblowing, brought after a final decision by the U.S. Secretary of Labor under the whistleblower protection provision of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR 21), the California Supreme Court answers a certified question from the Ninth Circuit finding that, given the factual and procedural circumstances of this case, the Secretary's factual findings on the issue of causation, embodied in a final non-appealable order should be afforded preclusive effect in this subsequent court action between the same parties, as the AIR 21 statutory scheme gave plaintiff the right to formal de novo hearing of record before an ALJ, and further gave him the right to appeal the Secretary's order to the appropriate United States Court of Appeals in accordance with the Administrative Act.
Appellate Information
- Decided 08/23/2010
- Published 08/23/2010
Judges
Court
- Supreme Court of California
Counsel
- For Appellant:
- James P. Stoneman, David J. Reis