Result

Christopher Cato (SD), Lisa Garner (LA) and Susanna Matingou (SD) attained a victory in a sexual harassment lawsuit in the Orange County Superior Court, after a ten-day jury trial. They would like to thank the Orange County Employment Group for its assistance. The case involved claims by a Hispanic factory worker that she had been sexual harassed by her Korean supervisor. Plaintiff complained to human resources about the harassment in 2007 and brought her lawsuit in 2010, following a California Department of Fair Employment and Housing Complaint and investigation. Plaintiff claimed that the harassment resumed a few months after her initial complaint, but she did not go back to human resources to complain again. Chris and Lisa pointed out inconsistencies in Plaintiff's testimony and showed that other factors which contributed to Plaintiff's alleged emotional distress occurred at the same time, such as rumors circulating in the workplace about the plaintiff and home life issues. They also established that human resources responded to Plaintiff's complaints. The jury found that the alleged harasser and the employer did not cause any harm to Plaintiff. Plaintiff sought $400,500 at trial (not including attorneys' fees) and more than that prior to trial. The jury verdict was in favor of Gordon & Rees's clients.