Verizon Business obtains affirmance of summary judgment in Illinois employment action brought by former senior business consultant
Client(s) Verizon Business
Jones Day successfully defended its client, Verizon Business, against claims of age discrimination, breach of contract, violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collections Act, promissory estoppel, and quantum meruit in a complex case that included filings in three different jurisdictions over a two-year period. Plaintiff, a former highly-compensated business consultant for Verizon Business, originally filed his case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in May 2007. Jones Day obtained summary judgment for Verizon Business in May 2008 on plaintiff's age discrimination claim, at which time the federal district court refused to exercise subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiffs' remaining state law claims. Thereafter, plaintiff appealed the district court's decision dismissing his age-discrimination claim to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Jones Day briefed and argued the case to a three-member panel of the Seventh Circuit, which affirmed the district court's decision in July 2009. Additionally, at the same time Plaintiffs' appeal was pending before the Seventh Circuit, Plaintiff refiled his four state-law claims in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Verizon Business removed the case back to federal court and obtained summary judgment on the four remaining state law claims in November 2008.
Martino v. MCI Communications d/b/a Verizon Business, No. 07-C-2627, (N.D. IL); Martino v. MCI Communications Services, Inc., No. 2008L006079 (Cir. Ct., Cook Cty., Ill.); Martino v. MCI Communication Services, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Business Services, No. 08-CV-08411, (N.D. Ill); Martino v. MCI Communication Services, Inc. d/b/a Verizon Business Services, No. 08-2405 (7th Cir.)
