Employment Law, Workplace Investigations & Trade Secrets Litigation
Employment Law, Workplace Investigations & Trade Secrets Litigation
Employment-related disputes may have far-reaching implications for a company’s reputation, business and ability to attract and retain talent. Clients turn to Paul, Weiss for our deft handling of the most sensitive internal investigations, high-stakes employment and executive-related litigations, and business-critical trade secrets, non-competition and restrictive covenant disputes.
Paul, Weiss Obtains Victory for Apollo Investment Corporation
Paul, Weiss achieved a victory for our client Apollo Investment Corporation (AIC) on Friday when Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted our motion to dismiss in an age discrimination suit brought by the former CEO and Chairman of a company in which AIC is a minority equity investor.
The plaintiff, Burt Fried, brought the action alleging that he was pushed out as Chairman of LVI Services, Inc., an environmental remediation company, on the basis of his age. His complaint, which asserted causes of action under federal and city antidiscrimination laws as well as state contract and tort claims, alleged that his successor as CEO of LVI, the board of directors of its parent company, and AIC and another outside equity investor all conspired to diminish his role at the company and terminate him on the basis of his age. Fried also alleged that his daughter was later fired from the company in retaliation for bringing this action.
We argued that the sole basis of AIC's purported liability was the actions of the two minority directors (and AIC employees) that AIC appointed to the parent company's board, and that Fried had not provided any allegations that would overcome the presumption that the directors' alleged misconduct occurred in the course of their role as directors, and not as AIC employees. We also argued that even if Fried had overcome that presumption, he did not (and could not) allege that AIC exercised sufficient control over his employment to be liable as Fried's "employer" under federal, state or local antidiscrimination laws.
Judge Rakoff granted our motion to dismiss in full and with prejudice. Litigation partner Andrew J. Ehrlich argued the motion to dismiss, and the team also included litigation partner Brad S. Karp.