Johnson v. Nextel Communications, Inc.

660 F.3d 131 (2011)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Johnson v. Nextel Communications, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
660 F.3d 131 (2011)

  • Written by Sharon Feldman, JD

Facts

Michael Johnson was one of 587 clients (claimants) (plaintiffs) who retained law firm Leeds, Morelli & Brown (LMB) to bring employment-discrimination claims against Nextel Communications, Inc. (Nextel) (defendant). It was agreed that LMB would get a one-third contingency fee. Instead of bringing claims against Nextel, LMB entered into an agreement called the Dispute Resolution and Settlement Agreement (DRSA) with Nextel under which LMB would be paid (1) $2 million if it persuaded the claimants to drop all lawsuits and administrative complaints and sign individual agreements to be bound by the DRSA and accept an arbitration procedure, (2) $3.5 million as the claims were resolved, and (3) $2 million to work for Nextel as a consultant for two years upon the resolution of all claims. The DRSA was designated as the exclusive settlement vehicle for claimants. LMB had the claimants sign individual agreements in which they represented they had reviewed the DRSA, had the opportunity to discuss it with LMB or other counsel, and agreed to fully comply with its terms. LMB did not allow claimants to review the full DRSA. Fourteen of the claimants did not agree to the DRSA, and LMB’s $2 million payment was reduced by $20,000 per client. The claimants filed a class-action complaint against LMB, alleging that LMB breached its fiduciary duty of loyalty to the claimants by entering into the DRSA. The district court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim. The claimants appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Winter, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership