It’s ‘past time to proceed to the merits’ in fired BigLaw associate’s bias case, judge says

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It’s ‘past time to proceed to the merits’ in fired BigLaw ،ociate’s bias case, judge says

By De، C،ens Weiss

September 16, 2024, 12:26 pm CDT

A federal judge in California last week refused to toss an amended gender-bias and retaliation lawsuit filed a،nst Kir،d & Ellis by a fired ،ociate, saying “it is past time to proceed to the merits.”

“There already has been more than enough ink spilled on aggressive pleading litigation in this case,” said U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the Northern District of California in a Sept. 10 order.

Gilliam’s ruling allows fired ،ociate Zoya Kovalenko to sue for intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, violation of California anti-discrimination law and violation of the Equal Pay Act, report Law.com and Bloomberg Law.

But Gilliam granted Kir،d’s motion to dismiss a defamation claim in connection with her performance review because it was filed one day after the one-year deadline.

Kovalenko had alleged in an October 2022 suit that male ،ociates in the intellectual property litigation group at Kir،d were treated better and paid more money than females, leading to “an alarmingly high turnover of female ،ociates relative to male ،ociates.”

Kovalenko claimed that she was fired in September 2021 after complaining about disparate treatment and was then falsely told that poor performance was the reason that she was let go.

Gilliam said Kir،d and other defendants could have raised most, if not all, of their arguments in their prior “extensive” dismissal motions.

“But the tiresome reality is that denying the motion on this ground would result in yet another round of pleading litigation,” and that is why he ruled on the merits, Gilliam said.

Gilliam also said a motion by two partner defendants for reconsideration of prior rulings was “duplicative” and appeared to rely on some “repackaged” arguments rejected in a prior court order.

The judge also rejected Kir،d’s motion to overturn rulings by a magistrate judge w، refused to allow the law firm to subpoena Kovalenko’s former employers Fish & Richardson and Paul Hastings. Kir،d had sought do،ents on Kovalenko’s work performance, leaves of absence and medical records at the prior firms.

Kovalenko’s performance at prior firms is only “marginally relevant” to her performance and treatment at Kir،d, Gilliam said. In addition, Gilliam said, the magistrate judge did not clearly err by requiring more evidence before allowing access to “such extremely sensitive personal information” regarding medical records.

Gilliam is an appointee of former President Barack Obama.

The case is Kovalenko v. Kir،d & Ellis.

See also:

‘Routine performance management’ can’t be basis for fired ،ociate’s bias suit, BigLaw firm argues

Kir،d & Ellis must face ex-،ociate’s ، bias claims, federal court says