Honest, case-breaking testimony
A man filed a breach of contract claim against a company after his contract with the company was terminated because of an internal complaint from one of the company’s employees. The internal complaint alleged, among other things, that the plaintiff had prematurely recorded sales, the implication being that he had claimed revenue on sales before they were final. The plaintiff’s attorney hired us to provide an expert opinion concerning whether the company’s actions during their investigation were consistent with what a reasonable employer would do under similar circumstances.
Prior to the termination, the company started an investigation of the internal complaint but then failed to interview several key witnesses. The company’s investigator then directed a witness to destroy a document under the mistaken belief that possession of the document violated an agreement the company had with a competitor. Then, without actually substantiating any of the accusations brought in the internal complaint, they terminated the employee “with cause,” meaning that they did not compensate him, as they would have had the termination been without cause.
Following our investigator's deposition testimony as an expert witness, the company agreed to settle the case, resulting in a substantial award for the plaintiff who had been wrongfully terminated from his job.
After an exhaustive review of the facts—as detailed in the company’s internal documents, and in the legal motions and pleadings—one of our investigators wrote a detailed report with his findings. He then testified in a deposition that in this instance the employer’s actions fell far short of what would have constituted an objectively reasonable investigation under the circumstances.
Following our investigator’s deposition testimony as an expert witness, the company agreed to settle the case, resulting in a substantial award for the plaintiff who had been wrongfully terminated from his job.