Pittsburgh, July 31, 2013 — The Burns White Employment Law Group obtained a motion to dismiss for a national security company client in a lawsuit alleging it should be held accountable for the bad acts of a vendor’s employee allegedly acting under the client’s direction. In the suit, the plaintiff, a direct competitor, sought monetary damages and to force the client out of certain geographical markets.
The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. In its motion to dismiss, Burns White Employment lawyers led by Group Co-Chair Dean Falavolito, who argued the motion in federal district court, along with Associate Laura E. Caravello, who authored the motion and brief, successfully asserted that the plaintiff did not and cannot prove that the person in question was acting under the direction of the client. As a result, the court dismissed the claims against the client.
Note: The results obtained in a particular case are, of course, always heavily dependent on the facts and the law specific to that case.