Anthony W. Czarnik v. Illumina, Inc.
Published: Sep. 24, 2002 | Result Date: Jul. 17, 2002 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: GIC763972 Verdict – $7,196,940
Judge
Court
San Diego Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Anthony F. Pantoni
(Signature Resolution)
Defendant
Jennifer A. Kearns
(Duane Morris LLP)
Experts
Plaintiff
Brian P. Brinig
(technical)
Defendant
Michael P. Ward
(technical)
Facts
In the summer of 1998, the plaintiff and others established the defendant company, a biotechnology company. In
1999, the plaintiff, who was serving as the chief scientific officer, disclosed to the management of the company
that he suffered from depression. The plaintiff claimed that after he disclosed his illness to company officials he
was left out of management strategy meetings and was excluded from significant business activities.
After complaining to management that he had been discriminated against and later filing a complaint with the
Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the plaintiff claimed that he was retaliated against by, among
other things, being placed on a performance plan and assigned unreasonable performance goals.
The plaintiff claimed that he then began to verbalize strong concerns about an important
experiment that the company was conducting and that information derived from this experiment
should not be used on its" road show" presentations to potential investors during its initial public
stock offering. On Sept. 5, 2000, the plaintiff was terminated.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $1,500,000; the defendant offered $200,000.
Damages
The plaintiff claimed that he suffered approximately $1.7 million in economic damages due to the loss of the value of his stock in the company. He also claimed damages for emotional distress, as well as punitive damages.
Other Information
The plaintiff was awarded $325,000 in attorney fees. The defendant has filed motions for new trial and JNOV.
Deliberation
two days
Length
one month
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