MBJ Victory: Appeals Court Upholds Ruling In Favor of Employer on Discrimination and Retaliation Claims

In a decision issued by the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Court upheld an order of the Suffolk Superior Court granting summary judgment to the defendant employer on claims of discrimination and retaliation filed by a former employee.  Morgan, Brown & Joy successfully represented the defendant employer in the case.

Plaintiff, a former employee of Vinfen Corporation, claimed that he was subjected to discrimination on the basis of his race and national origin, and subjected to retaliation for engaging in protected activity in violation of G.L. c. 151B.  Vinfen denied each of these claims, and produced evidence that Plaintiff was terminated after he was the subject of three separate complaints of sexual harassment from three different individuals with whom he had contact in the course of his employment at Vinfen.

The Superior Court entered judgment for Vinfen on all counts of the Complaint in January 2006.  The Plaintiff then appealed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.  On April 17, 2007, the Appeals Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court in all respects.  The Court found that the employer had terminated the plaintiff employee for legitimate business reasons that did not warrant any inference of discrimination.  The Court also rejected the plaintiff’s various other claims of discrimination with regard to pay and promotions at the company.

Greg Manousos represented the defendant employer in the case.  A copy of the decision can be found here