Move to Florida Kills Age Discrimination Case Against Don Imus
A judge rules sportscaster Warner Wolf can't sue ex-boss Don Imus for age discrimination in New York after moving to Florida.
October 01, 2018 at 05:05 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
Radio shock jock Don Imus. AP Photo/Richard Drew
A move to Florida by legendary sportscaster Warner Wolf killed his age discrimination lawsuit in New York against his ex-boss, radio personality Don Imus.
Wolf, who is 80 and known for his catchphrase “Let's go to the videotape,” delivered a sportscast on “Imus in the Morning” for about 20 years. He claimed in the lawsuit filed under state and New York City human rights laws that he was replaced with a younger sportscaster.
Wolf, who was represented in the matter by prominent employment law attorney Douglas Wigdor and Kenneth Walsh, an associate with Wigdor's firm, claimed in his suit that he was shown the door in 2016 and replaced with Sid Rosenberg, who is about 30 years Wolf's junior.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice James D'Auguste dismissed Wolf's suit, finding his relocation put him outside of the protection of the New York state and city laws, which do not cover nonresidents. Additionally, Imus lives in Texas.
Wolf's relationship with the show apparently took a bad turn in 2015 when he moved to Naples and began broadcasting from there — an arrangement that eventually lost Imus' approval.
“We tried it. It sucks,” Imus told Wolf in an email, according to court papers.
Imus, 78, and a fixture on New York City radio since the 1970s, retired in March. He retained Offit Kurman attorney Brendan Marx and special counsel Martin Garbus, and the other defendants were represented by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart attorneys Aaron Warshaw and Jamie Haar.
Turning to the merits of Wolf's claims, the judge said Wolf's arguments were based on “blanket conclusory assertions and assumptions.”
“Indeed, the only specificity contained in [the] complaint are stray comments made by Imus, a member of [the] same protected class as Wolf,” the judge wrote.
The dismissal comes less than 10 months after Wolf filed his suit.
“We are pleased to see a thorough and expeditious resolution to this case,” Offit Kurman CEO Ted Offit said in a news release. “It is the kind of outcome that demonstrates the extraordinary skill of our litigators in New York.”
Wigdor said Wolf's attorneys plan to appeal the ruling.
Read More:
Warner Wolf Says Age Bias Led to Ouster From Don Imus' Radio Show
'Unwitting' Role in Scandal Prompts Paterson Aide to Quit
Offit Kurman Absorbs Eaton & Van Winkle in NY Expansion Bid
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