Employment Contracts, Discrimination, & Sexual Harassment
Representative Cases
UNIVERSITIES; CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS; SLANDER
A prominent business college professor was fired and barred from the campus when the University claimed that he had been caught on a security videotape “vandalizing” school property. The Firm, in association with another local firm, sued the University and its president in Federal Court. After several years of hard-fought discovery and litigation, the case was finally resolved at mediation (for a confidential amount that was reported in the Wall Street Journal as $5 million). The professor has resumed his career and now serves as a dean at a prestigious northeastern university.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION; ORAL CONTRACT; STATUTE OF FRAUDS; TRIAL
A senior executive of a New York-based, international mergers and acquisitions brokerage company was fired by the CEO, and sued the company claiming that he had a contract entitling him to several million dollars and certain percentage ownership interests in all the company’s on-going ventures. The Firm was hired to defend the case and won a directed verdict for the Client at a Federal Court trial.
PHYSICIANS/NURSES; SIMPLE BATTERY; PUNITIVE DAMAGES; JURY TRIAL
A local nurse was referred to the Firm by her personal doctor when she claimed that she had been improperly touched by a physician at the hospital where she worked. The Firm undertook her representation on a contingency fee basis and filed a lawsuit against the offending physician. When he denied ever touching the nurse, and refused to make any settlement offer at mediation, the Firm tried the case to a Jury, and the result was a verdict against the doctor for significant compensatory damages and for punitive damages as well.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT; SAME-SEX; UNIVERSITIES; JURY TRIAL
The Firm sued a university and dean on behalf of a male graduate student who alleged that he had been subjected to same-sex sexual harassment by his university-appointed mentor and advisor, who was also the dean of his area of study. Court TV covered the case, and, after the commencement of a jury trial, the university and the dean settled the Client’s claim.
DISCRIMINATION (AGE); HEALTH CARE SERVICE; NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT
A healthcare worker in an Atlanta hospital was demoted and subsequently discharged; she was 57 years of age at the time. Although it was denied, the Firm obtained testimony that the employee’s supervisor was overheard saying that the employee was “too old to handle the job.” The suit was settled on the eve of trial for an amount which the defendant hospital insisted be kept confidential as a part of the settlement.
WRONGFUL DISCHARGE; PROMISSORY NOTE; ARBITRATION
The Firm defended a securities broker who had worked for a large brokerage company but was fired from the company. The company had then sued the broker for the repayment of paid income which he’d never earned. Although the broker had signed a promissory note for the amount, the industry arbitration panel agreed with the Firm’s argument that the broker was not liable because he had been unfairly dismissed from his employment.
DISCRIMINATION (SEX); TRIAL; APPEAL
The General Counsel and the CEO of a multi-million dollar international corporation retained the Firm to defend the company against a Title VII Civil Rights sex discrimination charge brought against the company by a disgruntled former manager. The employee, a male, alleged that the company’s owners had discriminated against him and other males by hiring and promoting females in order to obtain sexual favors. A heated week-long trial in Federal Court resulted in a judgment in favor of the Client-corporation. The employee appealed, and the Firm also successfully defended the company before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSE; ETHICS; STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS; DRUG ABUSE
A physician, who had previously been disqualified to practice in another state, was in jeopardy of losing his license to practice in Georgia following his overdose of a self-prescribed controlled drug. The doctor retained the Firm to represent him before the State Board of Medical Examiners. Rather than having to surrender his medical license, he was allowed to resume his practice following the completion of a drug treatment program and other terms and conditions that were negotiated for him by the Firm.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES; MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD; ETHICS; SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
The Firm represented a psychiatrist who was charged by a former patient with inducing the patient to have illicit sexual relations with the doctor, as a part of the patient’s therapy. The patient filed a formal complaint and an investigation ensued by the state association’s ethics committee and the patient threatened litigation. The Firm successfully defended the doctor at a hearing, no ethical sanctions were imposed and the lawsuit was never filed.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT; RESTAURANT; MEDIATION
Two waitresses at a locally-owned restaurant were sexually harassed by the owner-manager, who had subjected them to sexually explicit jokes and comments. He denied all wrongdoing. A complaint was filed with the EEOC and a lawsuit was filed in Federal Court, resulting in a mediated recovery of $100,000 for each of the waitresses.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT; LAW FIRM; SIMPLE BATTERY
A young female secretary at a small metropolitan law firm was sexually harassed by one of the firm’s partners, to the point that she informed her parents and her husband, who referred her to the Firm. Although the lawyer denied any wrongdoing or inappropriate misconduct, the Firm was able to obtain evidence of sexually explicit emails from the lawyer to the secretary from the hard drive on the lawyer’s computer. A significant settlement was negotiated immediately thereafter, and the partner resigned from his firm.
- additional sample cases available upon request