In the Courts

Case Closed: Lambda Legal reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed on behalf of an HIV-positive cook fired from Mike and Katy's Causeway Caf' in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. The restaurant agreed to implement a nondiscrimination policy, conduct HIV education sessions for employees, and pay fired employee Aron Pelela an undisclosed sum. Fighting Back: Robert Hickman, who says he was fired from a Subway restaurant in Las Vegas because he is HIV-positive, has joined with Lambda Legal to file suit against the franchise owner. 'Not only is it not good business to fire an employee'just because that employee has HIV, it is also against the law,' says Lambda attorney Jen Sinton. Outright Wrong: The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit on behalf of Helen Green against the police chief of Welch, W.Va., saying the top cop refused to allow CPR on a gay heart attack victim because he assumed the man, Green's son, was HIV-positive and a health risk. Claude Green Jr., who was actually HIV-negative, died as a result, according to the lawsuit.