Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Mike Laurenson and Senior Counsel Richard D. Lambert recently obtained an arbitration award in favor of GRSM’s client, a private maritime association, on all claims before a three-arbitrator panel.
The claimant was a former member of the association who sued for retaliation and wrongful termination and sought a writ of mandamus compelling the association to reinstate him. In addition, he claimed more than $8,000,000 million in damages in backpay, front pay, and emotional distress. In a matter of first impression, he also alleged that he was not a member of the association but was, in fact, an employee and that he was wrongfully disassociated from the association in retaliation for his reports of alleged safety concerns to outside regulatory agencies. The stakes were high given the association had been operating in the same manner for more than 100 years, and a ruling in favor of the claimant could have resulted in the association being forced to change its manner of operations.
The GRSM team argued that the claimant was not, in fact, an employee under any relevant standard, statute, or legal precedent, and thus, he could not bring claims for retaliation or wrongful termination as those were exclusively reserved for employees. They further argued that even if the claimant was an employee, his documented history of divisive, abusive, and hostile conduct towards other members of the association resulted in his disassociation following a vote of his fellow members and that his reporting of alleged safety concerns played no role in the decision.
After a three-day hearing and post-hearing briefing, the arbitration panel ruled in favor of GRSM’s client on all claims, finding that the claimant was not an employee but a member of the association, his disassociation was proper under the association’s bylaws, and that his disassociation was not in retaliation for any alleged protected activity.