Court finds against Los Angeles-based Cordoba Corporation for disability discrimination, wrongful termination, failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to accommodate, and failure to prevent discrimination.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/10/2019 -- John Quemada was a seven year employee of Cordoba Corporation, a construction management firm based out of Los Angeles. During his employment, Mr. Quemada suffered work-related injuries when he was forced to engage in manual labor, a practice in violation of Cordoba's own policies. After Mr. Quemada's doctor determined that he had suffered a permanent disability requiring modest accommodations, Cordoba terminated his employment. Cordoba Corporation neither engaged Mr. Quemada in the interactive process nor offered him any reasonable accommodations for his disabilities. Although during trial, Cordoba maintained that Mr. Quemada was a sub-par performing employee who quit his job, evidence showed that John Quemada was a good employee, and that Cordoba fired Mr. Quemada due to his disabilities and the need for reasonable accommodations. Cordoba repeatedly lied to cover-up its illegal conduct.

According to court documents, the jury awarded John Quemada $2,700,000, including $1,500,000 in punitive damages, against Cordoba Corporation for disability discrimination, wrongful termination, failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to accommodate, and failure to prevent discrimination. The award included $184,000 in economic damages for the two-year period that John Quemada was unable to find work after his termination.

The trial lasted five weeks before the Honorable Terry Green in Dept. 14, Los Angeles Superior Court. The matter was tried by Keith Griffin and Alexa Galloway from Girardi|Keese and Ebby Bakhtiar of Livingston Bakhtiar. Case number BC621735 was filed at Stanley Mosk - 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

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Whistleblower Employee fired after filing reports of supervisors' sexual misconduct

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/14/2019 -- Keith Griffin of Girardi Keese and Ebby Bakhtiar of Livingston obtained a $15.39 million verdict against Jack in the Box on June 11, 2019 after a 39 day jury trial(case#BC593619 filed in the superior court of California County of Los Angeles). Attorneys Griffin and Bakhtiar represented Blanca Ramirez, who worked for Jack in the Box as a supervisor for 12 years. Ms. Ramirez was fired after making two reports of sexual misconduct against her restaurant's supervisory and management staff. Ms. Ramirez first blew the whistle on the restaurant manager's highly inappropriate sexual misconduct in the workplace, including the sending of profanity-laced text messages and partially nude photographs to a seventeen-year-old female employee. Ms. Ramirez's report resulted in little discipline to the manager, who was simply transferred to a different restaurant.

Five months later, Ms. Ramirez reported a twenty-two-year old male supervisor who had been engaging in what she perceived to be sexual misconduct in the workplace with multiple sixteen-year old cashiers who reported to him. Within a week of this complaint, the district manager fired Ms. Ramirez for "parking" a car that was delaying the drive-thru line. She was immediately replaced by someone 21 years younger.

Evidence at trial established that there was no policy against parking cars, which was shown to be a widespread, accepted practice. The evidence additionally demonstrated that the assistant manager knew of the practice, condoned it and that all of the employees at the restaurant engaged in it when necessary. Nevertheless, Ms. Ramirez was the only employee who was fired for doing it, despite having a pristine performance record, with no warnings or write ups of any kind.

The jury found that Ms. Ramirez's termination was retaliatory and motivated by discriminatory intent based upon her complaints, disabilities and age. The jury also found for Ms. Ramirez on her harassment claim and determined that she was neither engaged in the interactive process nor accommodated for her known disabilities.

The jury awarded $5.39 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages due to Jack in the Box's despicable conduct.

About Girardi | Keese Lawyers and Livingston - Bakhtiar
Girardi | Keese is a Los Angeles-based law firm with extensive experience in catastrophic injury cases, aviation accidents and employment litigation. Girardi | Keese has fought thousands of "David vs. Goliath" cases since 1965, recovering more than $10 billion for injured and defrauded clients. To learn more about Girardi | Keese, please visit http://www.girardikeese.com. Livingston - Bakhtiar is a boutique plaintiff litigation firm located in Los Angeles and is focused primarily on employment litigation arising out of violations of the California Fair Employment & Housing Act. The principal of the firm, Ebby S. Bakhtiar, is a meticulous, aggressive and experienced trial attorney dedicated to helping workers who have been the victim of employer-based discrimination and other civil rights violations.

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The Crash of the Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg Flight Killed 224 People on October 31, 2015.

Los Angeles, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/27/2016 -- A lawsuit has been filed against the Egyptian government on behalf of Edgar Iorgens, whose ex-wife Elena was one of the 224 victims of the terrorist attack on Metrojet Flight 9268. Iorgens' complaint alleges that the plane's destruction was the consequence of poor security and negligence by the air carrier Metrojet, and airport personnel at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. The claim #1008/2016 was formally filed in Cairo on May 24, 2016. The first hearing is scheduled on June 26, 2016.

The complaint alleges that the Egyptian government, who owns the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, is liable for lack of security and negligence with respect to Flight 9268. Iorgens names the Egyptian Prime Minister, the Minister of Aviation, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Police, and the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport as defendants.

The Flight 9268 attack reveals that airport ground personnel are the Achilles heel of airport security. An ongoing investigation brings to light that the person who placed the bomb on Flight 9268 was likely an airport baggage handler. Iorgens' attorney, Tom Girardi, stated that he believes "if stronger security measures were implemented within the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport's hiring process, the potential for insider-driven terrorism would be greatly reduced."

Employing even one radicalized individual can drastically diminish an airport's safety.

Iorgans' complaint was filed on behalf of his minor daughter who is now motherless as a result of the destruction of Flight 9268.

About Girardi | Keese Lawyers
Girardi | Keese Lawyers is a Los Angeles-based law firm with extensive experience in mass torts, wrongful death, and aviation accidents. Girardi | Keese has fought thousands of "David vs. Goliath" cases since 1965, recovering more than $10 billion for injured and defrauded clients. To learn more about Girardi | Keese, please visit http://www.girardikeese.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm