Fredrikson & Byron attorneys Patrick D. Smith and Brandon R. Underwood recently won an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in a lawsuit alleging sex discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation under Federal and Iowa law.
The Fredrikson attorneys represented Kemna Motor Company and Auto$mart, Inc., part of a family of car dealerships in north central and northwest Iowa. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa granted summary judgment to the defendants on all claims.
On February 13, 2020, the Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the District Court’s ruling. The court ruled the alleged harassment did not satisfy the legal standard for actional harassment under Iowa or Federal law. In addition, the court ruled that the plaintiff failed to adequately exhaust administrative remedies on her retaliation claim and failed to adequately present her arguments in support of the claim for sex discrimination. The case is Paskert v. Kemna-Asa Auto Plaza, Inc. et al., No. 18-3263 (8th Cir. 2020).
Fredrikson & Byron is a 300-attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Fargo, Mankato, St. Paul, Saltillo, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. Fredrikson & Byron has a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet.” Our attorneys bring business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to work with clients, and operate as business advisors and strategic partners, as well as legal counselors. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and on Twitter @FredriksonLaw.
Media Contact: Kelly Griffith, 612.492.7514, kgriffith@fredlaw.com.
