MoFo Scores Partial Victory In 'Mommy Track' Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
Two claims against the Biglaw giant have been dismissed, though plaintiffs will have the opportunity to replead their case.
The legal maneuvers are continuing in the $100 million gender discrimination case against Morrison & Foerster. As you may recall, a total of seven plaintiffs have come forward alleging there’s a “mommy track” at the firm that they were placed on after they took maternity leave, and the firm is fighting back against the allegations.
MoFo has already tried, and failed, to bring sanctions against one plaintiff, identified as Jane Doe 4. The firm argued Doe 4 had signed a release of all claims against the firm when she negotiated a severance package from the firm. But magistrate judge Jacqueline Scott Corley found plaintiffs had sufficiently pleaded Doe 4 signed the agreement under economic duress (she was eight months pregnant when she was fired from the firm).
While the hardball tactics may not have yielded much fruit for the Biglaw giant, some regular-old lawyering has netted a modicum of success. Last week, Judge Corely dismissed two of the claims in the complaint, one by Doe 4 and another by Jane Doe 5, though they will have an opportunity to replead these claims.
Though Doe 4 sufficiently pleaded she was under economic duress when she signed the release, the judge found a second claim of retaliation by MoFo was insufficient on the pleadings. As Big Law Business reports:
Jane Doe 4 also failed to state actionable retaliation under federal or California law, the court said. She didn’t allege Morrison & Foerster provided any prospective employer with a negative employment reference. She only stated that she “believed” it did.
MoFo also argued Doe 5’s claims were time barred. Doe 5 argued she experienced “extraordinary circumstances” — namely complications from a second pregnancy that happened after she was told she was being let go from the firm, but before it become effective — that should toll the statute of limitation. However, Judge Corely found she didn’t sufficiently plead she had diligently pursued her federal claim.
We’ll continue to monitor all the legal twists and turns in this case.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
