False claims of sexual harassment dismissed against our client

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medical malpractice settlement, New York, Franklin Gringer Cohen, Michael S. Mosscrop, sexual harassment, false claims

We recently obtained a successful result at trial on behalf of a client who was falsely accused by a customer of sexual harassment.

Our client was accused of inappropriately touching a customer during a transaction that took place in the lobby area of our client’s workplace.  The customer commenced a lawsuit for sexual harassment in which she was demanding money damages from our client.

Upon our investigation, we learned that the entire interaction between our client and the false accuser was caught on surveillance video.  The video clearly demonstrated that nothing inappropriate occurred at all.  In light of the false allegations our client faced, we answered the lawsuit and also counterclaimed against the accuser for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

At trial, we confronted the accuser with the videotape and through successful and vigorous cross-examination, we convinced the Court that the accuser had completely made up these allegations and had committed perjury at the time of trial.

In light of these false allegations, we not only asked the Court for money damages on our counterclaims, we also asked the Court to award our client the full amount of attorney’s fees he incurred in defending against these frivolous allegations.

In New York, unless allowed by statute or agreed-upon in a contract, parties to a lawsuit are generally not allowed to
seek payment of their attorney’s fees in the context of a litigation.

However, and pursuant to New York’s Code of Rules and Regulations, if a party commences a frivolous lawsuit without any basis in fact or in law, that party may be required by the Court upon application to pay for the other party’s attorney’s fees.  At the time of trial, we relied upon this rule and asked the Court to award our client every penny of the attorney’s fees he paid to our firm in defending this frivolous lawsuit.

Not only did the Court dismiss the false accuser’s lawsuit in its entirety, it also awarded our client monetary damages on his defamation counterclaim, in addition to all the attorney’s fees he incurred in defending against this baseless lawsuit.

“False claims of sexual harassment dismissed against our client” was written by
Michael S. Mosscrop