June 12, 1998
State Awarded Substantial Attorney Fees Against Employee Who Pursued Frivolous Sexual Harassment Claim
[Guthery v. State of California (98 C.D.O.S. 3606)]Raymond Guthery was an employee of the California Department of Corrections who did not get along with his female supervisor.
He was offended by her insistence that he keep his office door open and situate his desk so that she could see him from her desk, being reprimanded by her in the presence of others for taking excessive time on a business trip which included stopping to gamble, and a variety of other issues. He believed that these actions constituted a hostile work environment based on gender.
It became clear from the pretrial discovery, that Guthery had no factual evidence to support his contentions. As a result, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the various defendants. Guthery, however, appealed. The Appellate Court concluded that the appeal was frivolous noting:
"Suffice it to say, there is absolutely no evidence in the record that we could find which supports a finding that Guthrey has even established a prima facie case for any of his claims."The court then went on to affirm the trial court's order granting the State of California $64,796.50 in attorney fees as well as attorney fees on appeal. The court explained that it was filing this opinion in order to alert plaintiffs and their attorneys to the serious consequences of filing "baseless" employment discrimination lawsuits. Hopefully, that message will be received.
Hopefully this case will set an appropriate message to employee and attorneys prone to proceed with frivolous claims of sexual harassment.
As the information contained herein is necessarily general, its application to a particular set of facts and circumstances may vary. For this reason, this News Brief does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you consult with your counsel prior to acting on the information contained herein.
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