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David I. Brody quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on Moran v. Khalil, et al.

David I. Brody, partner in the firm’s Employment Department, was quoted in the December 26th issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The article, “Essex County jury awards employee subjected to false police report $2M,” discusses Moran v. Khalil, et al., where the plaintiff was awarded more than $2 million in damages on malicious prosecution and defamation claims. The plaintiff, a longtime employee, was wrongfully accused by her former employer of having taken $18,000 in cash and checks from the company. The case highlights the importance of caution for employers engaging police in workplace investigations.

Read the full article from Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (subscriber content).

From the article:

Boston employment attorney David I. Brody drew a parallel between the Moran case and last year’s Appeals Court decision in Silve & Hanna, Inc. v. MCAD, et al. In both cases, an employer’s actions that otherwise might have had a lawful basis — in Slive & Hanna, the threatened seizure of a vehicle — became unlawful due to the motive behind it.

“Motive almost always matters,” Brody said.

Brody also said Moran is a good reminder to plaintiffs-side employment attorneys not to focus exclusively on claims that provide for statutory fee shifting at the expense of what might be more viable common law claims.