Employer Gets 2nd Chance to Defend Against Retaliation Claim

The Missouri Court of Appeals last week ruled that an employer was entitled to a chance to defend itself from a former employee’s claim that he had been terminated in retaliation for pursuit of workers’ compensation benefits. A trial judge had entered a default judgment against Bear Communications after it failed to respond to the lawsuit filed by Brett Paes. The company filed a motion to have the default judgment set aside. A trial judge granted the motion, and the Court of Appeals upheld the decision “Though mistakes were plainly made,” the court said, “...