Posts by The Block Firm
Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment in Schools
Sexual misconduct is a major problem in Georgia schools. Did you know that every year multiple teachers are arrested in Atlanta for having sex with their students? Did you know that the major Georgia school districts collectively report hundreds of incidents of sexual misconduct in school every year? Did you know that some schools actively…
Read MoreSex Trafficking Litigation
Sex trafficking is illegal under both criminal and civil law. Sex trafficking is when someone forces a victim to travel, typically from one city, state, or country to another location, for purposes of sexual exploitation. Traffickers tend to target especially vulnerable people, such as younger women and refugees. Often victims are lured into captivity via…
Read MoreSexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment FAQs
Question: My boss or coworker has been making sexual comments and touching me at work. Is that legal? Answer: Absolutely not. Sexual harassment at work—behavior like inappropriate touching, sexual comments, and demands for sexual favors—is illegal. Employers who tolerate sexual harassment—or, worse, encourage it—can be liable under federal laws like Title VII, which prohibit sex…
Read MoreBlock Firm Wins Important Appellate Victory for the Online Merchants Guild
The Block Firm won an important appellate victory for our client, the Online Merchants Guild, today in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court. This case arises from the efforts by state revenue departments to shift the costs of billions in secret subsidies they gave Amazon to small businesses with none of Amazon’s political power. The Court, sitting en banc,…
Read MoreThe Block Firm Welcomes First Partner – Max Marks
We are pleased to welcome our first partner, Max Marks! Max is an alumnus of Harvard Law School and Alston & Bird. He has extensive experience litigating cases in the areas of antitrust, civil rights, real estate, and contract law. Most recently, Max was the chief author of the firm’s nationwide class action against Acella…
Read MoreCivil Rights Win: The Block Firm Leverages Seven-Figure Pre-Suit Settlement in Title IX School Sexual Abuse Case
On behalf of an elementary-aged student and her family, the Block Firm negotiated a seven-figure monetary settlement and significant policy changes prior to filing a lawsuit against a school district. The student was sexually abused by a school staff member while enrolled in an after-school program. Despite having actual knowledge that the student’s abuser had…
Read MoreConstitutional Lawsuit: The Block Firm Files Federal Lawsuit Against the State of California for Unlawful Pursuit of Back Taxes from Small Business Owners
In Online Merchants Guild v. Nicolas Maduros, No. 2:20-at-00954 (E.D. Cal.), the Block Firm, Rafelson Schick PLLC, and Candice Fields Law filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California challenging California’s unlawful pursuit of nearly 10 years of back taxes from hundreds of thousands of small, out-of-state businesses…
Read MoreCivil Rights Win: The Block Firm, Brought in as Substitute Counsel Following Trial Court Loss, Successfully Appeals Order Dismissing Plaintiff’s Title IX Action
In Schwake v. Arizona Board of Regents, No. 18-15725 (9th Cir. 2020), following oral argument by Aaron Block, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court’s order of dismissal in an action alleging that the University of Arizona violated Title IX by discriminating against a doctoral student on the basis…
Read MoreConstitutional Law Win: The Block Firm Successfully Challenges Unconstitutional Kentucky Statute that Unduly Burdens Small Businesses
In Online Merchants Guild v. Daniel Cameron, Attorney General of Kentucky (E.D. Kentucky 2020), the Block Firm, along with Rafelson Schick and Deatherage, Myers & Lackey, brought suit on behalf of the Online Merchants Guild to enjoin the Kentucky Attorney General’s application of price-gouging statutes to merchants who sell on Amazon, an interstate platform where prices are…
Read MoreCivil Rights Win: The Block Firm Leverages Settlement Allowing Family to Start a New Life Following Government Misconduct
The Block Firm utilized 43 U.S.C. § 1983 to secure a life-changing settlement on behalf of victims of sexual abuse which had been concealed and facilitated by corrupt government officials in a rural Georgia county. Section 1983 provides an individual the right to sue state government employees and others acting “under color of state law”…
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