Tellar v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

**Tellar v. Abbott Laboratories: Court Gives Worker Second Chance After Attorney Problems** This case involved an employee who sued Abbott Laboratories for age and gender discrimination and constructive discharge (being forced to quit due to intolerable working conditions). The worker's original lawsuit was dismissed by a lower court, but not because the claims lacked merit. The Connecticut Appellate Court reversed the dismissal and allowed the case to proceed. The court found that the original case was dismissed due to the worker's attorney experiencing family medical emergencies, which constituted "excusable neglect" rather than serious misconduct. Under Connecticut's "accidental failure of suit" law, when a case is dismissed for reasons beyond a plaintiff's control - like attorney emergencies - the worker gets another chance to pursue their claims. **What this means for workers:** If your discrimination lawsuit gets dismissed because of problems with your lawyer (like medical emergencies or other unavoidable circumstances), you may be able to restart your case under Connecticut law. The court recognized that workers shouldn't lose their right to seek justice simply because their attorney faced genuine emergencies. However, this protection doesn't apply if the dismissal resulted from serious attorney misconduct or your own actions.