Roberto Hernandez v. Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, et al.
Published: Sep. 17, 2005 | Result Date: Jul. 29, 2005 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 1100037935 Arbitration – $269,170
Facts
Plaintiff Roberto Hernandez worked as an account executive for defendant Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation
(HBC), now Univision, at its KSOL radio station in San Francisco. In October 2002, the plaintiff received a
cell phone call from defendant's Houston-based and nationally broadcast "The Raul Brindis and Pepito Show."
Brindis had told his listeners that he was going to call a "joto" (Spanish for "faggot"). Brindis then called the
plaintiff. Without the plaintiff's consent or knowledge, the conversation was broadcast on-air and live. Brindis
pretended to be someone that the plaintiff had met at a gay bar. The conversation lasted for several minutes
before Brindis told the plaintiff that the entire call had just been broadcast on his show.
The plaintiff filed a complaint with the company and later sued for violation of the Fair Employment and Housing
Act (FEHA), intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), and invasion of privacy.
Injuries
Severe emotional distress.
Result
The arbitrator, the Hon. Rebecca Westerfield (Ret.), found that the defendant was liable for IIED. The defendant was not liable for violation of FEHA. There was no finding regarding the plaintiff's invasion of privacy claims because damages on those claims would be duplicative of his IIED damages.
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