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GE attorney's class action lawsuit to go forward
Class Action |
2008/01/25 05:45
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A high-ranking attorney for General Electric Co. can go ahead with her class-action lawsuit against what she calls the "very male-dominated culture" in the international conglomerate, a federal judge has ruled.
U.S. District Judge Peter Dorsey on Wednesday rejected a motion filed by GE to prevent Lorene Schaefer's lawsuit from achieving class-action status. A class-action lawsuit would allow Schaefer to gather as many as 1,500 plaintiffs, including women who hold entry-level executive jobs and all the company's female lawyers. The lawsuit potentially seeks damages of $500 million.
Schaefer, general counsel of Erie, Pa.-based GE Transportation, filed a suit in May 2007 accusing officials of giving unfair preference to men in promotions to top-paying legal jobs.
Among its claims, GE argued that Schaefer cannot lead a class-action lawsuit because she had access to confidential client information while employed with GE.
Dorsey rejected that argument for now.
"If at any point during discovery, the defendants learn and can demonstrate that plaintiff is inappropriately using confidential client confidences in asserting her claims or representing the class, the court may reconsider the propriety of plaintiff's class allegations at that time," Dorsey wrote in his 30-page ruling.
In a statement, Schaefer said the ruling would benefit hundreds of GE employees. |
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Class action or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued. This form of collective lawsuit originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, at least the U.S. variant of it. In the United States federal courts, class actions are governed by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule. Since 1938, many states have adopted rules similar to the FRCP. However, some states like California have civil procedure systems which deviate significantly from the federal rules; the California Codes provide for four separate types of class actions. As a result, there are two separate treatises devoted solely to the complex topic of California class actions. Some states, such as Virginia, do not provide for any class actions, while others, such as New York, limit the types of claims that may be brought as class actions. They can construct your law firm a brand new website, lawyer website templates and help you redesign your existing law firm site to secure your place in the internet. |
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