Hahn Loeser Attorneys Andrew J. Wolf and Rachel L. Hazelet recently secured a defense verdict in favor of their transportation client in a $1.2M dispute. The plaintiff originally filed a 16-count lawsuit in 2022. Prior to trial, Hahn Loeser obtained dismissal of 11 of those counts and secured summary judgment on two additional counts. At trial, the plaintiff pursued claims of age discrimination, retaliation, and unpaid overtime compensation.
The employer terminated the plaintiff’s employment for two social media posts. After his termination, the employer learned that the plaintiff had been recording every minute of his time at work, producing thousands of hours of recordings. He then mined the recordings for every instance when one of his coworkers said something about his age, threatened him, or said something that he thought was evidence of their intent to retaliate against him. The Hahn Loeser team waded through the recordings, finding audio snippets the plaintiff tried to offer into evidence. Hahn Loeser then added context that proved that many of the audio snippets were irrelevant and unpersuasive. In cross-examination of the plaintiff, Hahn Loeser’s trial team undermined plaintiff’s claims and credibility.
“It’s gratifying to work with a client that trusts you to take a dispute to trial, and then to reward that trust by securing a complete defense verdict in their favor,” stated Labor & Employment Chair Steven E. Seasly. “Our trial team’s performance underscores Hahn Loeser’s steadfast commitment to delivering great client service and successful outcomes. It illustrates why our team gets retained by clients for trials, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, and mediations throughout the country,” he said.
After a full week of trial, the jury deliberated for two hours before delivering a verdict in favor of Hahn Loeser’s client on all counts. In addition to Wolf and Hazelet, the Hahn Loeser trial team received valuable support from Shmuel S. Kleinman, Jeradon Z. Mura, Margie Greco, and Nathan Cline.
