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CIR v. Banks, 543 U.S. 426, 125 S. Ct. 826 (2005)

In these consolidated cases, John W. Banks, II and Sigitas J. Banaitis failed to report as income portions of a settlement (in Banks’s case) and a favorable judgment (in Banaitis’s case) that were paid to their attorneys. The United States Supreme Court held that when a litigant’s recovery constitutes income, the income includes…

Hagan Eng’g, Inc. v. Mills, 115 Cal. App. 4th 1004 (2003)

Hagan Engineering, Inc., sued several of its former employees in state court, including Daniel G. Mills (collectively, “Mills”), for misappropriation of its trade secrets and related claims; Mills sued Hagan in federal court, alleging violations of ERISA. Eventually, the parties entered into a global settlement and dismissed both lawsuits with prejudice. Within two…

Biehl v. CIR, 351 F.3d 982 (9th Cir. 2003)

Frank Biehl brought suit against his former employer, North Coast Medical Center, Inc. (NCMI), and won a jury verdict in his wrongful termination action against the company. NCMI agreed to settle the case for $1.2 million, of which $401,000 was paid directly to Biehl’s attorney. Biehl reported only $799,000 of the $1.2 million (i.e., his…

Banaitis v. CIR, 340 F.3d 1074 (9th Cir. 2003)

In his tort claims against his former employer (Bank of California) and its successor (Mitsubishi Bank), Sigitas Banaitis alleged wrongful discharge and interference with his employment agreement. After losing at trial in Oregon state court (where Banaitis obtained a $6.27 million verdict in his favor) and failing in their appeals, Mitsubishi Bank and the Bank…

Le Parc Community Ass’n v. WCAB, 110 Cal. App. 4th 1161 (2003)

Tim Curren, an employee of Advance Property Management (APM), was injured when he fell from a roof while cleaning the rain gutters of one of the properties owned by Le Parc Community Association. (Le Parc had retained APM to perform roof repairs, tree trimming and other maintenance activities.) In addition to filing…

Jalali v. Root, 109 Cal. App. 4th 1768 (2003)

Farideh Jalali sued her former employer for racial discrimination and sexual harassment. During the first phase of the trial, the jury awarded Jalali $750,000 in compensatory damages. During the punitive damages phase of the trial, the employer offered to settle the matter for $2.75 million for all claims, conditioned on confidentiality. Jalali accepted the offer…

Roden v. Bergen Brunswig Corp., 107 Cal. App. 4th 620 (2003)

Bergen Brunswig Corporation terminated the employment of Donald R. Roden, its president and CEO, without cause in 1999. After Roden filed a lawsuit alleging intentional interference with prospective economic relations, slander, and infliction of emotional distress, among other things, Bergen Brunswig communicated a settlement offer pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure § 998.…

Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp., 290 F.3d 1043 (9th Cir. 2002)

In this class action, eight former “freelance” Microsoft workers alleged that the company had improperly deprived them of employee benefits, including participation in the Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Nine years after the case was filed, the parties settled the matter when Microsoft agreed to pay approximately $97 million into a settlement fund. Plaintiffs’ attorneys…

McPhearson v. The Michaels Co., 96 Cal. App. 4th 843 (2002)

Plaintiff’s attorney in this discrimination case (John Riestenberg) had represented another employee of The Michaels Company (Kevin Harris) in a similar lawsuit against the company. As part of his settlement agreement, Harris agreed to keep the terms of the agreement confidential. When Riestenberg filed the current lawsuit against the employer, the company filed…