Plaintiff, a 30-year-old gay male with a slight hearing disability, was harassed by his supervisor, an executive in a production company.
His supervisor, an older heterosexual female, at various times referred to Plaintiff as a “deaf faggot,” a “cock sucking faggot” and a “deaf idiot.”
The company denied that these statements were made and took the position that even if the statements were made they did not rise to the level of severe or pervasive harassment.
Winer, Burritt & Scott, LLP, after a hard fought litigation, were able to establish that Plaintiff would likely be believed on his claims, and that the perpetrator had a history of mistreating and harassing employees. Further, given the perpetrator’s senior position in the Company, the Company was at risk for a punitive damage award based on the supervisor’s outrageous conduct. As a result, the case settled.
RESULT: $350,000 settlement on behalf of Plaintiff