Litigation
Oct. 28, 2015
Ex-GC of Bio-Rad gets green light in whistleblower retaliation suit
District judge rules that ousted general counsel Sanford Wadler can sue Bio-Rad under whistleblower claims, reasoning that a brief filed in support of Wadler by the Securities and Exchange Commission made such claims viable.
Daily Journal Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO - The former general counsel of Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. has been given the green light in his federal lawsuit that claims the company fired him in a "classic case of whistleblower retaliation."
U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero ruled Friday that Sanford S. Wadler can sue Bio-Rad under whistleblower claims, reasoning that a brief filed in support of Wadler by the Securities and Exchange Commission made such claims viable.
The opinion denies in part Bio-Rad's motion to dismiss, allowing Wadler to proceed under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which offered job security to people who reported their employers to the SEC.
In their motion to dismiss, Bio-Rad's lawyers with Latham & Watkins LLP argued that Dodd-Frank offered protection against "employers," or companies, and not individuals within those companies.
Spero disagreed. Wadler v. Bio-Rad Laboratories et al., 15-CV2356 (N.D. Cal., filed May 27, 2015).
"The court concludes that Congress intended that Dodd-Frank provide for individual liability," Spero wrote. "The court rejects defendants' assertion that the Dodd-Frank claim must be dismissed as to the individual defendants."
In the underlying case, Wadler claims Bio-Rad fired him after he discovered the company was involved in "extensive bribery" in Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
Linda M. Inscoe, a San Francisco-based partner with Latham & Watkins LLP who is listed as the lead attorney defending Bio-Rad, could not be reached.
Kevin B. Clune, a San Francisco-based partner with Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP, who represents Wadler, cheered Spero's ruling in an email.
"The decision sends a clear message to the highest levels of the corporate hierarchy that senior executives and directors will be held accountable - in addition to the corporation itself - if they retaliate against those who seek to stop corporate fraud and corruption," Clune said.
saul_sugarman@dailyjournal.com
Saul Sugarman
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