Rachel Kitze Collins Selected as “Attorney of the Year” Honoree

We are pleased to announce that LGN partner Rachel Kitze Collins has been honored by Minnesota Lawyer magazine as an “Attorney of the Year” award recipient, along with Jess Braverman and Christy Hall of Gender Justice! The group is being recognized for their outstanding work in Anderson v. Aitkin Pharmacy & George Badeaux.  In this case, LGN and Gender Justice successfully achieved victory on behalf of their client, Andrea Anderson, at the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which held as a matter of law that a pharmacist’s refusal to fill a prescription for emergency contraception is illegal sex discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

Ms. Anderson sued Aitkin Pharmacy under the MHRA after the lead pharmacist, George Badeaux, refused to accommodate her prescription request.   She had received a valid prescription for Ella, an emergency contraceptive tablet, from her healthcare provider which Badeaux refused to fill, citing his beliefs.

The team tried the case before an Aitkin jury and appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals.  In a historic decision, the Court of Appeals entered judgment as a matter of law for Ms. Anderson, affirming that no reasonable jury could conclude other than that Ms. Anderson was discriminated against by the lead pharmacist.  It is the first ruling in the United States to find sex discrimination in the context of a pharmacist’s refusal to fill a prescription for emergency contraception.

Congratulations to Rachel and the team on a well-deserved award! All “Attorney of the Year” recipients will be celebrated at an awards ceremony in February.