PRACTITIONER BLOG

Read our analyses of developments in Impact Litigation and stay current on class action law

Watching a Juris Doctor Save Lives: Partnering with Lambda Legal to Fight for Healthcare for All
Class Actions, Transgender Healthcare Teddy Basham-Witherington Class Actions, Transgender Healthcare Teddy Basham-Witherington

Watching a Juris Doctor Save Lives: Partnering with Lambda Legal to Fight for Healthcare for All

Together with Lambda Legal and Walt Auvil of the Employment Law Center in West Virginia, my firm Nichols Kaster filed suit against West Virginia Medicaid on behalf our clients Christopher Fain and Shauntae Anderson. In that case, Fain v. Crouch, we challenged the state Medicaid program’s categorical exclusion of gender affirming surgical care under the Equal Protection Clause, the Affordable Care Act, and the Medicaid Act.

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West Virginia Can No Longer Discriminate Against Transgender Medicaid Participants
Class Actions, Transgender Healthcare Ashley LaFranchi Class Actions, Transgender Healthcare Ashley LaFranchi

West Virginia Can No Longer Discriminate Against Transgender Medicaid Participants

On August 2, 2022, federal District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers granted affirmative summary judgment for Plaintiffs in Fain et al. v. Crouch et. al, and ruled that West Virginia could no longer discriminate against transgender Medicaid participants by excluding coverage for gender-confirming surgical care. In their complaint, Plaintiffs alleged that West Virginia state health insurance plans deprive transgender people of essential, and sometimes life-saving, health care.

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Impact Fund and Allies File Amicus Brief Defending Courts’ Role Protecting Workers During Litigation
Workplace Litigation, Defense Tactics, Amicus Brief Teddy Basham-Witherington Workplace Litigation, Defense Tactics, Amicus Brief Teddy Basham-Witherington

Impact Fund and Allies File Amicus Brief Defending Courts’ Role Protecting Workers During Litigation

Our brief highlights the role afforded to courts to intervene and address the conduct of counsel and parties in litigation. This historical role is especially important in litigation connected to the workplace, where the power imbalance between employers and employees presents unique threats to the rights of employees in the form of coercion and retaliation.

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