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That'll teach 'em!

soupcan Jun 07 2005 09:21 AM

I was being sued by a former employee alledging racism and ageism and looking for tons of dough from me. I learned this morning that this incredibly frivolous suit was finally DISMISSED! This thing has caused me months and months of grief and stress and I feel awesome today. It did cost me a significant amount of $$ in attorney's fees but still. The judge was adamant in the 16 page decision that the former employee was completely wrong in every one of her accusations and left very little room for her to appeal anything. Now you guys don't know me at all so how would you know if I were racist or anything else but let me just say that accusing me or any one of my immediate family of racism is so completely contrary to who we are and how we were raised that it's beyond explanation. This employee was treated incredibly well and compensated much, much more than fairly during her time here. Suffice to say that when she resigned she was the highest paid employee at the company. The whole thing was ridiculous but frightening as well. I'm sorry for going on and on but this is a major stress-relief for me and I needed to share. Thanks and Wooo-hooo!

cooby Jun 07 2005 09:22 AM

Yay! Soupy!

seawolf17 Jun 07 2005 09:30 AM

Wow... congratulations! Glad that's over for you!

ScarletKnight41 Jun 07 2005 09:30 AM

Congrats soup - it's great when the good guys win!

Edgy DC Jun 07 2005 09:38 AM

That's got to be a load off. Good luck getting on with your professional life.

cooby Jun 07 2005 09:44 AM

Have a big office party with the money you saved!

soupcan Jun 07 2005 09:55 AM

Thanks all. Again you guys have no way of knowing whether or not this woman's allegations had any merit but believe me, she was looking to force me into just giving her a check years after she resigned. Willingly. After we asked her not to! She made up stories and accused me and others in the office of horrible things that were completely false. This was not the first time she had tried to strongarm us. In the years since she left she has continued to harass us with threats and allegations unless we paid her off. My attorney was able to bat back every volley she threw. Finally after she went through three or four different attorneys she filed suit. It was scary because even though I knew these things were ridiculous you never know what a judge is going to do. It was good to see that the judge was able to cut through her bullshit and understand what it was she was really doing.

ScarletKnight41 Jun 07 2005 10:15 AM

I can appreciate the situation soup. My husband is a managment side labor attorney - he deals with this nonsense all the time. It's good to hear that the judge had the sense to dismiss the case.

holychicken Jun 07 2005 10:20 AM

Congrats. One of my biggest fears is going on trial for a crime I did not commit and, of course, getting convicted. This sounds very close to that. . . so I can sort of understand how much of a relief this must be for you. And, of course we all know you are innocent. How could a crane pooler possibly do ANYTHING wrong? We are all perfect. Except for maybe that Squid. . . he can be a little brash at times.

Giant Squidlike Creature Jun 07 2005 12:31 PM

No respect for Squid. All Squid asks for is respect.

cooby Jun 07 2005 12:34 PM

How can you say that about Squiddy? He is a sweet, gentle beast

MFS62 Jun 07 2005 01:36 PM

]This employee was treated incredibly well and compensated much, much more than fairly during her time here. Where can we send a resume? Later

cooby Jun 07 2005 02:53 PM

Get in line; I've been trying to get him to hire me for years

soupcan Jun 07 2005 04:13 PM

Yup. Line forms behind coob.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 08 2005 08:30 PM

A great day for us real sexists! just kidding. Congrats to Soupy, the CPF Employer of the Year

soupcan Jun 09 2005 09:08 AM

I swear to you - this woman was/is nuts.

Edgy DC Jun 09 2005 09:32 AM

She was/is nuts and she was the highest paid employee in the company? I think the rest of them ought to sue your reverse-discriminating ass. Sue you for your last drop of soup.

soupcan Jun 09 2005 09:45 AM

Her nuttiness only became apparent towards the end of her tenure here She had significant responsiblities and did her job well. Even with the wacko personality we were willing to put up with her. However when she tendered her resignation we weren't exactly crying in our...soup. Pipe down with that reverse discrimination nonsense - I don't need no more trouble!

Edgy DC Jun 09 2005 10:54 AM

Yeah, I know. Sorry. And, in fact, if she's that aggressive, you probably shouldn't be making statements for the record about her online.

cooby Jun 09 2005 10:55 AM

Yeah, she might be one of us!

Rockin' Doc Jun 11 2005 10:28 PM

Soup, congratulations on your victory. It must be a big relief to have the entire episode behind you.

soupcan Oct 20 2005 03:10 PM

She appealed. Arrrrrggggghhhhh.

Edgy DC Oct 20 2005 03:23 PM

Delete your online statements.

cooby Oct 20 2005 03:37 PM

That is terrible! Hang in there soupy, you've got to believe that the same wisdom that the judge used the first time will prevail again. Wish I could help

soupcan Oct 21 2005 08:57 AM

No need to delete anything. Who the hell is 'soupcan' anyway? I'm fairly certain the appeal will get tossed as well seeing as it was filed 90 days after the decision was sent down - she only had 30 days to submit her paperwork. It's just a hassle and more attorneys fees that I have to shell out. Unbelievable.

Yancy Street Gang Oct 21 2005 09:09 AM

I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that there should be some kind of penalty for harassing people with frivolous lawsuits. There should be some means where you can get her to reimburse you for your legal expenses.

soupcan Oct 21 2005 09:14 AM

I've talked to my attorney about that and his advice is that, at this point, the best thing to do is lay low. She has a right to have her grievances heard and I have to defend myself. In the past the courts have not looked favorably upon employers countersuing ex-exmployees in cases like these. Of course the other school of thought is that its in my attorney's best interests to continue to defend me against more and more lawsuits rather than try to go after her and put a definitive end to the activity. I've said it before I'll say it again - being a small business owner definitely has its upsides but its no walk in the park either.

ScarletKnight41 Oct 21 2005 09:30 AM

Soup - let me know if you want me to put you in touch with D-Dad. He's a management-side labor attorney for a corporation. This is the kind of nonsense he handles day in and day out. PM me if you want to trade e-mail addresses.

rpackrat Oct 21 2005 03:17 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 23 2005 04:38 PM

]I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that there should be some kind of penalty for harassing people with frivolous lawsuits. There should be some means where you can get her to reimburse you for your legal expenses. There is. Most jurisdictions have a rule stating that the attorney's (or litigant's) signature on a pleading certifies that there is a good faith basis in law and fact for the allegations (e.g. Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure). If it turns out that there was no such good faith basis, the party (or attorney) can be sanctioned, including having to pay the other side's attorney fees. There is a difference, however, between a case that is a loser and one that lacks any good faith basis (i.e. is "frivolous"). While all frivolous claims should, by definition, be losers, not all losing claims are frivolous. Not a comment of Soupcan's case -- I know nothing of the facts in this case. Edited for atrocious spelling

soupcan Oct 21 2005 05:17 PM

Yeah. I've been advised that proving her case is frivolous - from my standpoint as former employer - at this point would be difficult. Hopefully the appeal will be dismissed, if for no other reason than she was too late in filing it, and all will be well in the world again. Thanks for the offer Scarlet, I'll keep it in mind if this starts to get out of hand.

Diamond Dad Oct 21 2005 07:12 PM My two cents worth of soup

It is an unfortunate reality of our legal system that plaintiffs who want to extort money from their former employers can file baseless claims of discrimination and try to squeeze money. The employer is caught between the Scillus of settling the case and in effect bowing to the extortionist, and the Charribdis of fighting the litigation and spending tens if not hundreds of thousdands of dollars in legal fees. (I hope I spelled those right.) Proving that a claim was frivolous is very hard, especially when it's a matter of perception and the plaintiff can say that the feelings of discrimination were heartfelt, even if not supported by any objective facts. And unless you can prove the case is brought in bad faith, you still have to pay your own attorneys fees -- even on the appeal. It's an unfortunate cost of doing business in the U.S. I guess the theory is that any other system would disadvantage truly aggrieved plaintiffs, who would not be able to afford to have their legitimate claims heard. It's a high price to pay, however. Who were your lawyers, Soup? Give them a plug! D Dad

soupcan Oct 21 2005 08:00 PM

[url=http://www.bwp-law.com/bios.html#lou.htm]This is my guy[/url]

cooby Oct 22 2005 05:18 PM

I hope it works out all right

Diamond Dad Oct 22 2005 11:30 PM Legal Eagles

Glad you got good representation out of these folks, Can. I don't know either of the partners, but the credentials look solid and if they did the job for you, that's great. Hope the appeal gets dismissed early! DD

Centerfield Oct 24 2005 12:47 PM

Hey, you got Cornellians on your side. Awesome. Fight the good fight soupy.

TheOldMole Oct 24 2005 02:39 PM

Scylla and Charybis. And hang in there, Soupy.