Sixth Circuit Reverses $1M Jury Verdict in ADA Case Because of Fraud on the Court by Plaintiff’s Counsel.

Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit reversed a million dollar jury verdict in favor of an ADA plaintiff who claimed that he had been fired on account of his Tourette’s syndrome. Okros v. Angelo Infrate Construction Co., No. 07-1455 (10/20/08). The key evidence in the case involved a telephone call which the plaintiff and his witnesses claimed involved the employer’s vice-president making derogatory comments about the plaintiff’s stuttering and firing him for that reason. The vice-president denied that any such telephone call happened, that he knew about the plaintiff’s alleged disability or that he had been fired in such a fashion. After the trial and jury verdict, the employer finally subpoenaed the plaintiff’s telephone records which proved that the plaintiff had never called the vice-president as he claimed, but rather, telephoned a union officer who presumably masqueraded as the vice-president for the benefit of the witnesses. Because the employer had failed to seek copies of the telephone records from AT&T during pre-trial discovery, the trial court and Court of Appeals refused to reverse the verdict on the basis of the newly discovered evidence (in that the evidence could have been discovered before the trial). However, because the plaintiff’s attorney had, among other things, claimed – presumably falsely – during the trial and discovery process that he had attempted to subpoena the same telephone records and had been told that they no longer existed, because the court and the employer’s counsel were entitled to rely on the honesty of plaintiff’s counsel – as an officer of the court – and because the false information prejudiced the employer’s defense, the Court of Appeals reversed the verdict on account of the fraud on the court perpetrated by plaintiff’s counsel.

Insomniacs can read the full decision at http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/08a0628n-06.pdf.

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.