Shields v. Bellsouth Advertising & Publishing
N/AOUTCOME: Summary Judgment Affirmed on Appeal
A salesperson who had an anger outburst at a customer was fired. He alleged that he was really terminated due to his HIV status. During his unemployment proceedings, a Georgia court reviewed his unem ... ployment proceedings and affirmed the finding that the employee had not been fired for his HIV status but for misconduct. When he later sued in federal court for ADA discrimination, the court granted summary judgment for the employer because the employee could not relitigate the reason for his discharge since he had already done so in Georgia courts. On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit found that it would not violate federal due process to bar the employee from bringing his federal discrimination claim on collateral estoppel grounds but certified the question of whether collateral estoppel would apply in these circumstances to the Supreme Court of Georgia. 228 F.3d 1284 (11th Cir. 2000). That Court found that it would (545 S.E.2d 898 (Ga. 2001)) and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment. 254 F.3d 986 (11th Cir. 2001).
