Ashkenazi v. Baan USA Inc.
Published: Jan. 4, 2005 | Result Date: Nov. 10, 2004 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: CV031556FMC Verdict – $1,364,740
Judge
Court
Federal Circuit Court
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Steven J. Kaplan
(Law Offices of Steven J. Kaplan)
Defendant
Peter R. Afrasiabi
(One LLP)
Chris Arledge
(Ellis George Cipollone LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
Barbara C. Luna
(technical)
Salvatore R. Maddi
(medical)
Defendant
Glenn Pfeiffer
(technical)
Facts
The plaintiff was a salesperson employed by the defendant Baan Company, which sells complex software called Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERP) to big businesses which need to coordinate various aspects of their business enterprise, such as manufacturing, ordering parts, accounting, etc. In 1994, Baan entered into a five-year contract with the Boeing Corporation. Under the terms of that contract, Boeing agreed to pay Baan $20 million for the use of its software. That contract was set to expire on Aug. 3, 1999 and it was very important to the Baan company to have that contract renewed. In April 1999, Baan assigned the plaintiff, Allen Ashkenazi to the Boeing account to work on renewing that existing five-year contract. On Sep. 30, 1999, the Boeing company agreed to a five-year contract with Baan. The deal with Boeing included an up-front payment to Baan of $14 million, and was expected to result in an additional $28 million in payments to Baan over the five-year life of the contract. On Dec. 20, 1999, Baan fired the plaintiff.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $2.6 million before trial. The defendant offered $500,000 before trial.
Result
The jury found in favor of the defendant on the claims for wrongful termination in violation of public policy claim, breach of the implied covenant, and two of the three Labor Code claims. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff on the breach of contract claim and awarded him $566,800. The jury found that the defendant had violated California Labor Code section 203. The jury awarded $797,937 in punitive damages. The defendant has moved to strike that punitive damages award.
Other Information
The case was tried after a two-year argument on the issue of arbitrability. The case was originally dismissed and then sent to arbitration. The arbitrator found the arbitration agreement to be procedurally and substantively unconscionable and the case was then re-filed. The plaintiff's motion for attorney fees, costs and prejudgment interest is pending.
Deliberation
2.5 days
Length
three weeks
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