Former Quinn Emanuel Secretary Agrees to Drop Race Bias Suit
The firm appears to have reached a settlement with plaintiff Spencer Marin, who claimed he was subjected to racial slurs during a high-profile patent trial in Apple v. Samsung.
May 04, 2018 at 04:43 PM
3 minute read
A former secretary who sued Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan for race discrimination and retaliation has dropped his claims, two months after a Manhattan federal judge denied the law firm's early bid to dismiss the case.
Spencer Marin, a former floating secretary who left Quinn Emanuel in 2015, sued the litigation firm last year, claiming that he was subjected to racial slurs by a trial logistics director during a high-profile 2014 trial in the Apple v. Samsung patent case in San Jose, California.
“We are glad that the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties,” said D. Maimon Kirschenbaum of Joseph & Kirschenbaum, who represents Marin.
Marin had asserted that Quinn Emanuel's director of trial logistics, Yllen Cruz, called a black staff member “a re-nigger” after the staff member said she had second thoughts about sharing food during the trial.
U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York, denying the firm's motion to dismiss in March, said she was “surprised” that Quinn “attempted to cast the use of the N-word as a poor attempt at humor or a bad pun.”
During the oral argument, Caproni told Quinn partner Marc Greenwald that in reading the firm's papers she was “baffled by the description of this as a joke. I just don't understand the humor. I don't understand how someone thought it was humorous. I don't understand why Quinn Emanuel is taking the position that it was a joke.”
Greenwald told the judge the firm doesn't “find it humorous and we don't think it's a good joke.” He said it was the plaintiff's complaint that cited Marin's own email referring to an “'N-word' joke.” He added, “We don't like it and we wish it had never been said.”
Ruling from the bench on March 9, Caproni denied Quinn's dismissal motion, saying the complaint stated a claim for hostile work environment, “but just barely.” She said she was “somewhat skeptical” the claim could survive a summary judgment motion.
On Tuesday lawyers for Marin filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice. The stipulation was signed by attorneys for both sides last month.
Greenwald, the Quinn Emanuel partner, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllT14 Sees Black, Hispanic Law Student Representation Decline Following End of Affirmative Action
Barclay Damon's Newest Partner Served 2 Years as NY Gov's Deputy Counsel
The Lists Are In: New York Law Journal Presents Winners and Finalists for Annual Professional Excellence Awards
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1As 'Red Hot' 2024 for Legal Industry Comes to Close, Leaders Reflect and Share Expectations for Next Year
- 2Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 3Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 4Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 5Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250