Top 20 Defense Results: Hartnett v. Forensic Analytical Sciences Inc.

A so-called smoking gun in the plaintiff's favor wasn't enough to clinch a wrongful termination case involving a forensic crime lab, evidence destruction allegations and a whistleblower email.

The matter began when plaintiff Celia Hartnett was ousted as CEO of Forensic Analytical Sciences Inc. in Hayward. She continued working at the lab for the next two months, during which she emailed its owner claiming that the new CEO suggested it destroy evidence.

When Hartnett was fired shortly afterward, she filed suit against her former employer for nearly $2 million, alleging that her whistleblower email prompted her dismissal. Hartnett v. Forensic Analytical Sciences Inc., RG12641644 (Alameda Super. Ct., filed July 31, 2012).

In fact, the owner admitted just that during deposition. He referred to the whistleblowing email as the "tipping point" that led to Hartnett getting fired, said Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP's Michael Laurenson, who represented the crime lab in trial.

The admission was "scary," Laurenson said, but he contended that Hartnett's lack of cooperation and poor attitude was the real reason for her termination.

During cross-examination, Hartnett conceded she could have handled at least 10 issues differently in the period before she was fired, which might have altered her outcome, he said.

"I had to argue to the jury that it wasn't the whistleblowing aspect of the email that got her fired," Laurenson said. "It was her attitude throughout these two months, as reflected in this email."

In August, the jury unanimously rejected all four causes of action, including Hartnett's claim that she and her former employer had entered into an agreement in which she would be paid two years' salary as severance if she was ever removed from her position.

- Kylie Reynolds