Sexist Country Club Bans Phoenix Man
Ethics
A man says Phoenix Country Club expelled him for objecting to its policy that bars women from the grill. Russell Brown, an attorney, says that after he expressed his views to other members, to the Arizona Women Lawyer's Association and The New York Times, the country club retaliated by expelling him and refusing to pay for the value of his membership.
Brown spoke at the Arizona Women's Lawyers Association monthly luncheon about men's grills and had previously notified William Maledon, then-Phoenix Country Club Board president, about his anticipated comments.
Brown claims that Maledon did not warn him about speaking on the topic. Brown also commented to a New York Times reporter on the issue, and was quoted as saying, "Most men are indifferent to the policy or are against it."
According to the Superior Court lawsuit, the country club board of directors attempted to intimidate Brown and any members who disagreed with "PCC's policy of excluding women from the Men's Grill." Brown claims this included amendments to the country club's etiquette policy that state that a member may be suspended or expelled for making derogatory comments to the media.
Brown received a letter expelling him from the country club due to multiple violations of its etiquette policy, for his contact with the Arizona Women's Lawyers Association and The New York Times, but he says the "real reason he was expelled from membership was in retaliation for expressing his views against PCC's discriminatory policy towards women." He was not given the opportunity to defend himself in front of board members before his expulsion.
He is represented by David J. Bodney and Peter S. Kozinets with Steptoe & Johnson in Phoenix.
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Workers’ Compensation Subrogation of Administrative Fees and Costs
When a worker covered by workers’ compensation makes a claim against a third party, the workers’ compensation insurance retains the right to subrogate against any recovery from that third party for all benefits paid to or on behalf of a claimant injured at work. When subrogating for more than basic medical and indemnity benefits, the Texas workers’ compensation subrogation statute provides that “the net amount recovered by a claimant in a third‑party action shall be used to reimburse the carrier for benefits, including medical benefits that have been paid for the compensable injury.” TX Labor Code § 417.002.
In fact, all 50 states provide for similar subrogation. However, none of them precisely outlines which payments or costs paid by a compensation carrier constitute “compensation” and can be recovered. The result is industry-wide confusion and an ongoing debate and argument with claimants’ attorneys over what can and can’t be included in a carrier’s lien for recovery purposes.
In addition to medical expenses, death benefits, funeral costs and/or indemnity benefits for lost wages and loss of earning capacity resulting from a compensable injury, workers’ compensation insurance carriers also expend considerable dollars for case management costs, medical bill audit fees, rehabilitation benefits, nurse case worker fees, and other similar fees. They also incur other expenses in conjunction with the handling and adjusting of workers’ compensation claims. Workers’ compensation carriers typically assert, of course, that, they are entitled to reimbursement for such expenditures when it recovers its workers’ compensation lien. Injured workers and their attorneys disagree.