Lawyer’s Bias Suit Against Employer Hits Snag Over Confidential Info Claim
A former in-house lawyer who sued his onetime employer for religious bias must respond to allegations that he revealed confidential information in his complaint, a New York appeals court has ruled.
Even though tax lawyer Elan Keller was an at-will employee, he still had a fiduciary obligation to his employer and a duty to preserve client confidences, the appeals court said. The New York Law Journal reported on the ruling and posted Keller’s complaint (PDF).
The ruling reverses a lower court decision that had dismissed the confidentiality counterclaim by the Loews Corp., a holding corporation for Loews Hotels, CNA Financial and other companies, the story says. Loews contends Keller was fired for cause and says his suit revealed confidential information about a decision not to spin off a subsidiary.
Keller claims he was fired from Loews because his supervisor had “a discriminatory animus toward Jewish people.” He alleges he was advised to check his “crackberry” on Rosh Hashanah, a directive he refused, and he was berated for not working on high holidays.
