I want to fire my attorney but my parents think that would be a bad idea

[clia]

33 minutes ago, d0nnivain said:

That makes no sense.  The value of your case is based on what losses you have suffered.  If you lost a $50,000 per year job, your damages are $50,000 per year after taxes until you find another job; then your damages are the difference between your new job & your old job assuming you make less at the new job.  You must also make a good faith effort to get a new job.  You can't sit home, eat bonbons & think the money will roll in for the rest of your life.   Whether you were harassed, retaliated against or both, the cause of action does not change how damages are calculated.  

I have no idea where she's located or the facts of her case, but it's possible that emotional distress, pain and suffering, and/or punitive damages are also in play.

[d0nnivain]

2 minutes ago, clia said:

I have no idea where she's located or the facts of her case, but it's possible that emotional distress, pain and suffering, and/or punitive damages are also in play.

They are but they are generally negligible parts of an employment case damages as compared to the economic losses.  Unless she got raped or physically assaulted damages in an employment action are universally calculated on the hard numbers:  salary, stock options, bonuses, costs of health insurance & other perks etc.    

[poppyfields]

1 hour ago, d0nnivain said:

The value of your case is based on what losses you have suffered.  If you lost a $50,000 per year job, your damages are $50,000 per year after taxes until you find another job; then your damages are the difference between your new job & your old job assuming you make less at the new job.

There are also punitive damages which can be huge!  

Which is what I think the OP may be referring to.  

Retaliating against an employee for filing a sex harassment complaint is against the law (U.S. civil labor/employment law) and falls under "intentional infliction of emotional distress" among other causes of action.

Even if the harassment can't be proven, the retaliation is egregious enough to warrant a monetary award. 

If this went to trial by jury, the employer is toast, they are better off settling before trial. 

My experience has been around $200,000 possibly more. 

Edited September 2, 2021 by poppyfields

[d0nnivain]

10 hours ago, poppyfields said:

My experience has been around $200,000 possibly more. 

My experience has been that you only get the amount of money you lost.  So if you didn't have a $200,000 salary you don't get $200,000 in damages.  

If the employer had a legitimate reason to fire somebody the employer wins.  These cases are rarely as cut & dry as people think. 

[]

Edited September 3, 2021 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
Off topic

[poppyfields]

10 hours ago, d0nnivain said:

My experience has been that you only get the amount of money you lost.  So if you didn't have a $200,000 salary you don't get $200,000 in damages.  

No accounting for punitives that a jury might award? 

Not my experience and I've worked on tons of such cases, but fair enough not gonna argue with your experience.

I hear ya re lawsuits alleging racial and gender discrimination, they are very common but very difficult to prove in a court of law, in my experience.

But companies will often settle anyway just to avoid a lawsuit. 

Punitive damages are used in the settlement calculation, again my experience, in CA.

[]

 

 

Edited September 3, 2021 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
Off topic

[Tiffanie_20]

Actually, poppyfields is correct concerning punitive damages and emotional distress.  I know that in my first case, most of my settlement was based on those two things.  And salary had nothing to do with anything because I had no salary - I was still in school!  I think donnivain is from England, and I think their laws can be quite different in this area.  Most of the attorneys I've talked to have told me that the retaliatory action, which I have evidence of, can greatly increase the amount of punitive damages and/or emotional distress.   BTW, in my first case there was no retaliatory action and my settlement was still much larger than what my current attorney was telling me I could get in this case.  This is another reason I question this attorney's competency.

9 hours ago, d0nnivain said:

Since you seem to be worried about how big the lawyer's previous settlements have been, perhaps you need to search local newspapers, find the headline that keeps the dollar signs in your eyes & hire that person.  

Well, the money is the only way to hold them accountable.  There is no justice if the guilty party does not have to pay.  Plus, I deserve to be compensated for that they did to me.  I was 'slut shamed' and harassed to the point where I finally had to quit.  They made me feel like I was in the wrong even tho I was the victim.

[d0nnivain]

4 hours ago, Tiffanie_20 said:

  I was 'slut shamed' and harassed to the point where I finally had to quit.  They made me feel like I was in the wrong even tho I was the victim.

Oh boy.  That could be a HUGE & insurmountable problem.  In many places if you quit, you can't sue.  Ask these lawyers to educate you about a concept called constructive discharge.  It's very hard to prove in most jurisdictions.  You have to prove that you did everything in your power to remain employed but it was palpably unreasonable & practically unsafe for you to continue working there.  Usually some physical harm is required not just nasty words.  

Good luck.