Clients and Cases in the News |
|
|
| NOTE: The Adobe Reader plugin is required to read the following publications in PDF format. |
Barrett v. Andre Cherky and Andre Cherky Salon
Bowles v. National Association of Home Builders
Complainants v. Office of Special Counsel and Special Counsel Scott Bloch
Consumer Class Action Lawsuit v. BlueHippo Funding, LLC.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Complaint
D'Armiento v. U.S. Coast Guard
Discrimination Complaint v. ExxonMobil Corporation
Lerner v. D.C. Department of Mental Health
Religious Discrimination Complaint v. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
Sauer and Martino v. ArmorGroup North America and Armor Group International
Sexual Harassment Complaint v. D.C. Chief Medical Examiner
Sexual Harassment Complaint v. Maximus, Inc.
Sexual Harassment Law Suit Against Howard University Hospital
Sox Complaint v. Biogen Idec, Inc.
Tunnel Workers v. Architect of The Capitol
Whistleblower Complaint v. U.S. Small Business Administration
Debra Katz, representing Roger Barnes, a former Fannie Mae accountant and whistlebower, sent a detailed letter to former Senator Warren Rudman demonstrating that the report commissioned by Fannie Mae, known as the Rudman Report, painted a false picture of the events that led to the investigation of accounting failures at the nation's second largest financial institution. Fannie Mae agreed to publish Barnes' response to the Rudman report on its website.
 |
May 19, 2006 Response to Sen. Rudman's Report 
|
|
Includes 21 documents Exhibits for Rudman [4MB file]
|
CEO and CFO of Fannie Mae ousted, and new financial procedures instituted, following allegations by former financial manager at the Company which alleged that the company used improper accounting practices in order to misstate its earnings. Debra Katz represents client in case leading to congressional hearings and federal investigation.
|
The Washington Post, February 24, 2006 Growth of Financial Manager's Power 'Undermined' Checks and Balances
|
|
USA Today, December 16, 2004 Fannie Mae whistle-blower feels vindicated by SEC decision
|
|
The Washington Post, October 7, 2004 Accountant Says Fannie Mae Pressured Him
|
|
The Washington Post, October 7, 2004 Accountant Says Fannie Mae Pressured Him 
|
Barrett v. Andre Cherky and Andre Cherky Salon
Ronnie Barrett, represented by Debra Katz, Ari Wilkenfeld, and Justine Andronici, files a sexual harassment complaint against Andre Chreky, former hairstylist to First Lady Laura Bush.
|
The Washington Post, July 3, 2007 Troubled Waters At the Salon Spa
Two Ex-Employees Present a Very Different Image of Andre Chreky. For a decade, Andre Chreky's boutique has been atop the particular trade that is the high-end hair salon industry in the nation's capital. |
|
Nbc4.com, February 1, 2007 Stylists Sue Former High-Profile Boss For $4 Million
|
|
The Washington Post, February 1, 2007 Hairdresser to the Elite Faces New Lawsuit
|
Bowles v. National Association of Home Builders
Former president of the National Association of Home Builders' Research Center, represented by Debra Katz, files lawsuit against NAHB alleging that the company fired her after she refused to sign a license agreement that would defraud the IRS, leading to settlement.
|
The Legal Times, October 11, 2004 Powell Goldstein Hammered In Builders Case
|
|
The Washington Post, January 18, 2003 Suit Accuses Builders Group Of Devising Ploy to Cut Taxes
|
Complainants v. Office of Special Counsel and Special Counsel Scott Bloch
NPR's Morning Edition interviews Debra S. Katz talking about systemic problems with Scott Bloch at the Office of Special Counsel.
|
NPR's "Morning Edition", June 30, 2008 |
Debra S. Katz and Avi Kumin appear on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "On Point" to comment on the FBI raid of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, and the investigation of Special Counsel Scott Bloch on charges of obstruction of justice. Katz, Marshall & Banks represents several employees of the Office of Special Counsel, and filed the whistleblower complaints that led ultimately to the investigation of Mr. Bloch.
|
NPR's "Morning Edition", May 07, 2008 FBI agents raided the federal Office of the Speshial Counsel amid allegations of politicization
|
|
"On Point", May 12, 2008 Special Counsel Under Fire
|
Ms. Katz and Mr. Kumin are also quoted in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Federal Times regarding the story.
|
The New York Times, May 07, 2008 F.B.I. Raids Office of Special Counsel
|
|
The Washington Post, May 08, 2008 GOP's Davis Urges Bloch to Quit Special Counsel's Office
|
|
Federal Times, May 11, 2008 The strange case of Scott Bloch
|
Washington Post quotes Debra S. Katz, counsel for former and current OSC employees who brought a complaint against Bloch which is currently being investigated by the OPM IG. Earlier in the week, Katz sent a letter to President Bush urging Bloch's termination in light of the latest revelations concerning his destruction of evidence and obstruction of the OPM IG investigation.
|
The Washington Post, November 30, 2007 U.S. Special Counsel Says He Won't Provide Files
|
Debra S. Katz sent a strongly worded letter to President George W. Bush today on behalf of a coalition of current and former employees of the United States Office of Special Counsel ("OSC") and whistleblower protection groups, urging President Bush to fire Special Counsel Scott Bloch in the wake of his admission that he directed the deletion of computer files at the Agency. According to today's Wall Street Journal, in the midst of the OPM IG's investigation into his misconduct at OSC, Bloch hired a private computer-help company, Geeks on Call, to delete Agency computer files destroying crucial evidence and making it virtually impossible for forensics experts to restore the data later.
Katz stated, "Today's Wall Street Journal contains a report confirming what my clients and other sources within OSC have been saying since the OPM IG investigation began: that Mr. Bloch and his political henchmen have continuously obstructed the investigators' efforts to get at the truth. ... Tellingly, the article quotes Mr. Bloch as defending himself with a claim that the OPM IG has a 'conflict of interest' in pursuing its investigation of Mr. Bloch while his office supposedly is conducting an investigation of the White House. This claim by Mr. Bloch confirms what we have repeatedly pointed out in correspondence with the White House Counsel, with Clay Johnson, Deputy Director of OMB, and with members of Congress - that Mr. Bloch launched his supposed investigation of the White House to insulate himself from the OPM IG investigation."
|
The Federal Times, November 28, 2007 Attorney: New claims against special counsel are firing offense
|
|
The Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2007 Head of Rove Inquiry in Hot Seat Himself
|
|
USA Today, November 28, 2007 Rove investigator accused of wiping data from office computer
|
The Washington Post quoted from Ms. Katz's letter to Mr. Fielding concerning Special Counsel Scott Bloch's obstruction of the investigation of the OPM IG into allegations of prohibited personnel practices and other serious violations of federal law by Bloch, including retaliation against employees who disputed his policies. The Post reported :
"This week, a lawyer representing the employees wrote to White House counsel Fred Fielding urging him to request an interim report from OPM "regarding what its investigation has uncovered to date, and to explain the reasons for its long delay in concluding this investigation."
"Debra S. Katz, the lawyer, contended that Bloch 'has succeeded in obstructing and delaying this investigation,' most recently by directing current and former staff aides to refuse to provide answers to questions from the OPM inspector general, Patrick McFarland. In the letter, Katz said that 'Bloch's end-game here is obvious. He intends to play out the clock through the end of the president's term and avoid any responsibility or consequences for his misconduct.'"
"Bloch, in a statement, called Katz's letter 'rehashed allegations of obstruction that are false. I have fully cooperated with and never impeded the investigation, and agree that the OPM IG should explain its long delay in completing this now two-year-old investigation.'"
The Washington Post also reported that KMB clients the Government Accountability Project (GAP), the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and Public Employees for Environment Responsibility "sent a letter this week to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee asking that it not support higher funding for Bloch's office in fiscal 2008. Citing the mountain of evidence that Bloch has run this federal whistleblower protection agency into the ground and Katz's letter to Mr. Fielding, they stated in their letter that "they do not trust Bloch, adding that his office "'cannot take on any more responsibilities without further abandoning its primary constituency: government whistle-blowers.'"
|
The Washington Post, October 12, 2007 That Whistle's Been Blowing for Two Years
|
|
October 10, 2007 Letter sent by GAP, POGO and PEER
|
Congressional Quarterly reports on letter sent by Debra S. Katz to Fred Fielding, White House Counsel
|
October 10, 2007 Watchdog Groups Oppose More Money for Special Counsel
|
|
October 10, 2007 Watchdog Groups Oppose More Money For Special Counsel |
|
October 9, 2007 Letter to Fred Fielding
|
Debra S. Katz, counsel for current and former employees of the Office of Special Counsel who have filed a complaint against Scott Bloch, OSC Special Counsel, is quoted by the Federal Times in connection with the OSC reauthorization hearings. According to Katz, "We believe that it is obvious that Mr. Bloch launched this wide-ranging inquiry in an attempt to deflect attention from his own serious misconduct and obstruct the investigation that is being conducted by the OPM IG." The article references an April 2007 written by Katz to White House Counsel Fred Fielding asking Bloch to recuse himself from the Hatch Act probe of Karl Rove and other White House personnel. According to Katz, "the Hatch Act investigation will allow Bloch to label an adverse finding in the OPM investigation as retaliation. She also notes that if Bloch's investigation of the White House "is still under way when OPM completes its own investigation of Mr. Bloch ... the White House will be put in the position of having to make a decision about Mr. Bloch's future while it is itself being investigated by [him]."
|
Federal Times, July 12, 2007 Political battles expected to overshadow OSC reauthorization
|
Head of U.S. Office of Special Counsel investigated by Office of Personnel Management and questioned by Senate. KMB attorneys Debra Katz and Avi Kumin represent former employees of Special Counsel Scott Bloch, the top government official responsible for investigating whistleblower complaints, alleging that he himself retaliated against the employees after they voiced objections to his policy decisions.
|
The Washington Post, March 9, 2005 Senators Have Questions About Changes in the Office of Special Counsel
|
Consumer Class Action Lawsuit v. BlueHippo Funding, LLC.
KMB attorneys David Marshall and Debra Katz, together with The Sturdevant Law Firm of San Francisco and Professor Gary Peller of Georgetown Law School, filed a class-action lawsuit in California against BlueHippo Funding, LLC, a Baltimore-based computer sales company. The lawsuit, which seeks millions of dollars in restitution for BlueHippo customers, charges that BlueHippo uses deceptive television ads and telephone sales pitches to trick low-income consumers into paying exorbitant prices for computers they never receive.
|
The Baltimore Sun, March 15, 2006 Md. firm's practices get FTC scrutiny
|
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Complaint
Former president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, represented by KMB attorneys Debra Katz and Avi Kumin, alleges that the Corporation forced her to resign after she objected to unlawful politically-motivated decisions and that it failed to pay her an agreed-upon severance. Following an investigation by the Corporation's Inspector General, the Chairman of the Board was forced to step down.
|
The Washington Post, November 16, 2005 Faults Ex-Chairman Of CPB
|
D'Armiento v. U.S. Coast Guard
Anthony D'Armiento, through counsel, lodged a whistleblower retaliation complaint with the Bush administration alleging that the U.S. Coast Guard placed him on administrative leave, threatened him with a criminal investigation, and confronted him at gunpoint in retaliation for disclosing information embarrassing to the Coast Guard's troubled $25 Billion fleet replacement program, known as Deepwater.
|
POGO.org, 2008 Deepwater 2008 Project On Government Oversight
|
|
The Washington Times, March 11, 2008 Coast Guard Delays Cutter Over Radios
|
|
The Washington Post, December 16, 2007 Coast Guard Employee Alleges Retaliation
|
|
Political Gateway, December 16, 2007 Whistleblower alleges retaliation
|
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of KMB’s client Martin Desmond in an important disability case that has created new law and significant legal protections for employees under The Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accepting the arguments briefed by Lisa J. Banks and Daniel Edelman, and argued by Ms. Banks before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court held for the first time that sleeping constitutes a “major life activity."
|
The National Law Journal, July 14, 2008 Federal appeals court recognizes sleep disorder as disability (subscribers only) |
|
The National Law Journal, July 03, 2008 Sleep Problems Fall Under Rehabilitation Act: Court (subscribers only) |
Discrimination Complaint v. ExxonMobil Corporation
Three Muslim former employees of ExxonMobil Corporation, represented by Debra S. Katz, Avi Kumin, and Hanan Idilbi, file a complaint against Exxon in federal district court in Delaware, accusing the company of religion, race, and national origin discrimination, as well as unlawful retaliation. The suit alleged that the plaintiffs and other Muslim and Arab employees at a Delaware service station were subjected to racist graffiti and a steady barrage of anti-Muslim comments by management officials, who vowed to rid the station of all Muslims employees, and that Exxon's headquarters ignored repeated complaints of discrimination from Muslim employees at the station and failed to perform a timely investigation.
|
The News Journal, November 7, 2007 Muslim former employees at I-95 service station sue Exxon
|
|
November 5, 2007 Discrimination Complaint Against ExxonMobil Corporation
|
KMB attorneys Debra S. Katz and Hanan Idilbi filed a whistleblower retaliation complaint with the Office of Special Counsel on behalf of Edgar Domenech, the former Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF"). Mr. Domenech alleged that ATF and the Justice Department retaliated against him for raising concerns about former ATF director Carl J. Truscott's financial mismanagement of the Bureau. Mr. Truscott resigned in August 2006 while under investigation by the Department of Justice for financial mismanagement. In October 2006, the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General issued a report which largely confirmed complaints made by Mr. Domenech and other ATF senior officials about Truscott's wide-ranging pattern of improper expenditures on a new ATF headquarters, personal security, and other items of a personal nature. The Justice Department concluded that among Mr. Truscott's other misdeeds, he improperly forced employees to help his nephew prepare a high school video project and required female employees to serve lunch to guests.
According to the OSC Complaint, which was filed yesterday, Mr. Domenech has been demoted and transferred out of Headquarters, his performance appraisals have been downgraded, he has been denied a bonus and has been excluded from meetings concerning his areas of responsibility, all in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act. The Complaint further alleges that ATF's acting director, Michael J. Sullivan, took these actions against Mr. Domenech in retaliation for his reports about Mr. Truscott, who headed President Bush's Secret Service detail and had close ties to the White House. According to the Complaint, Mr. Sullivan told him that he was being removed to give others an opportunity to perform in the Deputy Director role, an explanation reminiscent of the now discredited justification provided by the Justice Department when it fired nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006.
|
The Washington Post, March 4, 2008 ATF Whistle-Blower Alleges Backlash
|
|
March 3, 2008 Edgar A. Domenech: OSC Report of Possible Prohibited Personnel Practices |
Lerner v. D.C. Department of Mental Health
Former psychologist at St. Elizabeth's Hospital alleges, in lawsuit filed by Lynne Bernabei of the Bernabei law firm and Ari Wilkenfeld of KMB, that she was harassed and retaliated against after she refused to lie under oath regarding the treatment of John Hinckley, Jr. Case results in $800,000 settlement by the District of Columbia and the D.C. Department of Mental Health.
|
The Legal Times, January 16, 2006 The Matter Over Hinckley's Mind
|
Religious Discrimination Complaint v. Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission
Muslim former employee at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission alleges, in lawsuit filed by Debra S. Katz and Avi Kumin, that he was subjected to severe racial harassment and religious coercion following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, leading to settlement.
|
NBC4, September 20, 2004 Muslim Man Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against WSSC
|
Sauer and Martino v. ArmorGroup and ArmorGroup North America
Debra S. Katz, Lisa Banks and Hanan Idilbi along with co-counsel Richard Condit of the Government Accountability Project ("GAP") filed a whistleblower retaliation law suit against ArmorGroup and ArmorGroup North America on behalf of KMB clients James Sauer and Peter Martino. Messrs. Sauer and Martino have alleged that they were terminated in retaliation for their whistleblowing about the fraudulent representations made by Defendants ArmorGroup North America ("AGNA") and ArmorGroup International ("AGI") to the United States Department of State. According to the Complaint, Defendants made these fraudulent misrepresentations regarding AGNA's experience, staffing capabilities, equipment and facilities in its attempt to secure and maintain a $187 million government contract to provide a guard force to protect the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Messrs. Sauer and Martino gave lengthy and distinguished service in the United States Marine Corps and command records of success in the management of security functions in combat and other crisis situations, and were employed by Defendant AGNA during 2007 as the chief Program Managers responsible for providing a guard force to protect the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan pursuant to a contract awarded to AGNA by the United States Department of State ("DoS"). According to the Complaint, soon after beginning their employment, Messrs. Sauer and Martino discovered that Defendants had materially misrepresented AGNA's capabilities in winning the contract award and lacked the means, facilities, and expertise to perform as warranted. Plaintiffs repeatedly reported their concerns to AGNA and AGI, who acknowledged that AGNA had underbid the contract in order to secure it, and who directed them to "make do" and put a "good face" on the situation to ensure that a profit would be made on the contract and that shareholders would be satisfied. After strongly objecting to the business practices of AGI and AGNA of putting profit over the security standards necessary to protect the U.S. Embassy and its personnel, Messrs. Sauer and Martino were terminated from their employment on June 13, 2007, the day after conveying their concerns to AGNA officers, and thereafter to responsible personnel at the U.S. Embassy, including via a writing that detailed the numerous ways in which AGNA "has no regard for the security of the United States Embassy, and is interested in only their stocks."
|
April 24, 2008 Whistleblower retaliation complaint: James Sauer and Peter Martino against ArmorGroup and ArmorGroup North America |
|
The NPR.org, April 24, 2008 Ex-Marines Suing U.S. Security Contractor
|
|
The ABC News, April 23, 2008 Suit: Guard Firm Left U.S. Embassy in Kabul Vulnerable
|
Sexual Harassment Complaint v. D.C. Chief Medical Examiner
D.C. Chief Medical Examiner ousted following sexual harassment charges. Attorneys David Marshall and Elaine Kaplan file sexual harassment charges on behalf of five female deputy medical examiners, winning $250,000 settlement and change of leadership in medical examiner's office.
|
The Washington Post, September 26, 2003 D.C. Medical Examiner Says He Will Resign; Subordinates Allege Incidents Of Harassment, Discrimination
|
Sexual Harassment Complaint v. Maximus, Inc.
CEO of Maximus, Inc., ousted following sexual harassment charges. KMB attorneys David Marshall and Justine Andronici represent former Maximus employee, winning settlement and change in company's top leadership.
|
The Washington Post, April 25, 2006 Maximus CEO Fired Over Conduct Toward Worker
|
Sexual Harassment Law Suit Against Howard University Hospital
Lisa J. Banks, Debra S. Katz and Nicole J. Williams filed a sexual harassment law suit against Howard University Hospital and its Chief of Emergency Medicine, Geoffrey Mountvarner, charging that they subjected Evelyn White to a sexually hostile work environment and to retaliation, in violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act. According to the Complaint, Dr. Mountvarner routinely subjected Ms. White and other female employees to unwelcome touching, sexual demands, vulgar and sexually explicit remarks, ridicule, intimidation and other abuse, referring, for example, to female physicians and nurses as "hos," "bitches," and other misogynist invectives. The Complaint further alleges that the Hospital retaliated against her by refusing to implement patient care corrective action initiatives that Ms. White pressed be implemented to ensure that the Hospital's Emergency Department met the requisite standard of care; refusing to implement the corrective action measures that were legally mandated following the death of New York Times reporter David E. Rosenbaum; subjecting her to increased scrutiny and unfounded accusations of misconduct; impugning her professional reputation; removing her from her position as Director of Emergency and Trauma Care Services; assigning her to an undesirable position; subjecting witnesses - who corroborated her allegations - to intimidation and harassment; and allowing Dr. Mountvarner to pursue a frivolous complaint of sexual harassment after he was put on notice by HUH that Ms. White had filed a complaint of sexual harassment against him.
|
The Washington Post, April 4, 2008 Nursing Official Files Sexual Harassment Suit
|
Lisa J. Banks is interviewed by NBC affiliate WRC TV, channel 4, regarding the $4 million sexual harassment suit KMB filed against the Hospital and its Chief of Emergency Medicine Dr. Geoffrey Mountvarner.
|
The NBC4.com, April 4, 2008 Lawsuit Alleges Howard Doctor Sexually Harassed Employee
|
Debra S. Katz, David J. Marshall and Nicole Williams filed a whistleblower retaliation complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor on behalf of Michael Smith, a nuclear engineer at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant. Smith's complaint, filed with the United States Department of Labor, alleges that Southern has retaliated against him for reporting nuclear safety issues at the Farley plant, in violation of Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act, the federal law which protects nuclear whistleblowers.
|
Atlanta Journal Constitution, November 14, 2007 Feds tighten scrutiny of 2nd Southern reactor
|
|
The Energy Law 360, November 6, 2007 Southern Co. Faces ERA Retaliation Complaint
|
|
The Birmingham News, November 2, 2007 Farley nuclear planted cited for safety problems
|
|
Atlanta Journal Constitution, November 2, 2007 Whistle-blower says he's victim of retaliation
|
|
November 1, 2007 Complaint: Michael Smith v. Southern Nuclear
|
Sox Complaint v. Biogen Idec, Inc.
Whistleblower lawsuit filed against Biogen Idec, Inc., a major pharmaceutical company. KMB attorneys Debra Katz and David Marshall represent former manager at Biogen who alleged that company gave illegal kickbacks to doctors and that she was fired after she opposed the practice.
|
The Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2005 Biogen Is Accused of Giving Kickbacks to Doctors
|
Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant whistleblower case goes to trial in Alabama. David Marshall represents painter foreman in case alleging that TVA contractor fired him for complaining of practices that endangered nuclear safety of plant and surrounding community.
|
The Daily Report, September 7, 2007 Whistleblower sues over firing by TVA contractor at Browns Ferry
|
|
The Employment Law 360, September 7, 2007 Plant Fired Worker Who Raised Safety Concerns: Suit
|
|
The Times Daily, September 7, 2007 Tuscumbia man files lawsuit against nuclear plant
|
|
September 6, 2007 Press Release: Nuclear Plant Worker Files Whistleblower Lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Alabama |
|
The Huntsville Times, June 22, 2005 Whistleblower testifies TVA safety was issue
|
Tunnel Workers v. Architect of the Capitol
A group of ten workers who maintain utility tunnels beneath Capitol Hill, represented by KMB's David Marshall and the Government Accountability Project, are awarded the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage, given to people who take a public stance to advance truth at personal risk. The workers allege that the Architect of the Capitol, the Legislative Branch agency that employs them, knowingly exposed them to asbestos and other life-threatening hazards, and retaliated against them for reporting this to Congress. KMB and GAP held a news conference to announce the filing of their complaint.
|
The Washington Post, February 1, 2007 Hill Workers File Retaliation Complaint - Press Release
|
|
The Associated Press, December 13, 2006 Capitol Tunnel Workers Receive Award
|
|
NPR's Morning Edition, October 23, 2006 Capitol Complex Workers Sue Over Lung Disease
|
|
9NEWS NOW, October 18, 2006 US Capitol Tunnel Workers v. Architect of the Capitol Press Release
|
Whistleblower Complaint v. U.S. Small Business Administration
KMB clients Caroline Pankove and Brian Cook blow the whistle on gross mismanagement at the Disaster Assistance Program of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
|
New York Times, February 23, 2007 Accusations of Agency Error in Disaster Loan
|
