9th Circuit Upholds Big Chunk of Former Bio-Rad GC's $11M Whistleblower Verdict
In a mixed ruling, the Ninth Circuit found a problem with the jury instructions in former Bio-Rad general counsel Sanford Wadler's whistleblower trial. The court, however, upheld Wadler's win on California public policy grounds, leaving in place $5 million in punitive damages and $2.96 million in compensatory damages.
February 26, 2019 at 04:43 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Recorder
Despite finding flaws in the jury instructions, the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday left in place a significant chunk of a jury verdict that former Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. general counsel Sanford “Sandy” Wadler won against the company in a 2017 whistleblower trial.
Wadler was awarded $11 million in damages after a San Francisco federal jury found in February 2017 that the company had fired him in retaliation for raising concerns internally about potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act within Bio-Rad's China operations.
In a 23-page published decision, a three-judge Ninth Circuit panel issued a mixed ruling that left standing the jury's award of $5 million in punitive damages and $2.96 million in compensatory damages. The panel, however, found that U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero, who oversaw the trial, erred in a section of the jury instructions that listed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act's anti-bribery and books-and-records provisions as “rules or regulations of the SEC,” falling under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The FCPA, the court clarified, is a statute.
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.
Trending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: For Big Law Names, Shorter is Sweeter
- 2Wine, Dine and Grind (Through the Weekend): Summer Associates Thirst For Experience in 'Real Matters'
- 3The 'Biden Effect' on Senior Attorneys: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
- 4BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 5First Lawsuit Filed Alleging Contraceptive Depo-Provera Caused Brain Tumor
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