Recent judgment confirming final arbitration award issued in Los Angeles County, becomes largest award on record.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court filed on May 28, 2009, a final judgment agreeing with the final arbitration award against a company in a wage and labor dispute with its former employee. The employee was acting as the chief marketing officer for the company. The final arbitration award is calculated to be $4.1 billion. Yes, I said billion, that is a “b” and it is not a typo. Damages included unpaid salaries, commissions (including estimated commissions for up to 7 years after termination), stock, unreimbursed expenses, interest, and penalties. On top of this the company had punitive damages charged to them calculated as three times the damages. The defending company refused to participate in the arbitration hearing which obviously allowed such a large award. With no effort to defend itself, the company was found by the arbitrator to have been “engaged in a pattern of despicable conduct that constitutes oppression, fraud and malice”.