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HR Solutions

Intersection of Bias Laws
and Bankruptcy:
Failure to Include Suit
on Bankrupt's List of Assets
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Verizon Ex-Employee
Loses Rights to Claim

     Connie Becker lost her job at Verizon and sued for age, race, and ADA discrimination in federal court (without the services of an attorney).   Three months later she filed a petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. 

    The bankruptcy law demands that a petitioner file a sworn statement of financial condition with the bankruptcy court, including all assets. The policy is that the debtor is turning over all assets and liabilities to the trustee.   "The estate in bankruptcy, not the debtor [Becker], owns all pre-bankruptcy claims," the Seventh Circuit wrote.  Becker neglected to include her claim against Verizon on this schedule, and a concealed asset - including the contingent proceeds from litigation - is lost
by the debtor when omitted.

    The court added that even if Becker had listed the lawsuit as an asset, she had no right to it unless the trustee were to abandon it.  Connie A. Becker v. Verizon North Inc., Case No. 06-2956.

    When you are sued by an ex-employee, you should as a matter of course check the bankruptcy docket to see if this person has filed a petition for bankruptcy, and then investigate the completeness of the disclosures filed in the case.

 

4/27/07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

GC Defamation Suit Against

Union Attorney Lays an Egg

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Tile Workers Lawyer Covered

by Special Privilege

 

            There has been another state court ruling on alleged union torts; this one found no liability.

            Kevin Atkinson worked for Dobbins Group as a site superintendent at a project at Fort Sheridan.  Dobbins had subcontracted floor installation to Polco Flooring, a nonunion subcontractor, and Local 67 of the Tile Installers Union picketed the site in July 2003.  During the occasions when picketers were present Atkinson confronted them, particularly the business agent.  Although he claimed they were obstructing workers the picketers claimed that he threw their drinks and food on the ground, insulted them, stabbed their inflatable rat to deflate it, and otherwise harassed them.  On July 28 Atkinson was arrested, and shortly thereafter Frank Marco, union counsel, wrote a letter to Dobbins Group.

            Seeking reimbursement for the damage to union property, Marco’s letter advised that “your employee Kevin Atkinson…as your superintendent, ….has destroyed and damaged property belonging to our local.”  The letter went on to threaten litigation, but a third party covered the cost of the damage. 

            An appellate court has upheld the dismissal of a subsequent defamation claim by Atkinson against individual union officials, including the business agent present during the picketing.   Kevin Atkinson v. Ralph Affronti, et al, No. 1-05-3992 (1^st Dist. Dec. 2006).  Such a letter “is absolutely privileged to public defamatory matter concerning another in communications preliminary to a proposed judicial proceeding,” the court ruled.  An attorney must be free to “candidly and zealously represent his client in communications to potential opposing parties in litigation or other proceedings,” without the potential dangerf legal exposure because of his efforts.

            Atkinson had argued that the privilege should not apply when such a communication is made in bad faith, but the court ruled that the privilege was absolute.

 

1/23/07