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Mary Schultz Law P.S. clients and cases making news and law:
CONTACT MARY SCHULTZ at Mary@MSchultz.com
FOR ALL ARTICLES: See News/Articles page
May 20, 2024
Chelan County settles discrimination suit with former deputy Jennifer Tyler for $1.5M.
“Discovery processes in this litigation presented the truth of what Chelan County allowed to happen to Ms. Tyler under the prior administration,” her attorney, Mary Schultz, said in a statement to The Wenatchee World on Monday. “This administration has stepped up and owned its responsibility, and we hope that what was revealed can move the County Sheriff’s department forward for all of its employees and citizens.”
June 1, 2023
Spokane County drops appeal of jury verdict in case of fired deputy; will pay $20 million to Jeffrey Thurman.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jun/01/spokane-county-drops-appeal-of-jury-verdict-in-cas/
December 23 2022- Jury Verdict- $19.5 million dollars for defamation, false light, race discrimination, outrage, and loss of consortium.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/dec/23/spokane-county-jury-awards-195-million-to-former-s/
"Spokane County has to pay a former Sheriff’s Office deputy and his wife $19.5 million in damages after a Superior Court jury on Friday determined he was wrongfully fired and defamed by Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.
After a four-week trial, the Superior Court jury sided with Thurman on Friday and ordered Spokane County to pay him and his wife, Kaycie Thurman, $19.5 million. They deliberated for less than a day.
Jeff Thurman will receive $2.5 million for lost wages and $12 million for emotional damages. Kaycie Thurman will receive $5 million for emotional damages and loss of consortium.
Mary Schultz, Thurman’s attorney, said in an email Friday afternoon that the Thurmans received the damages they deserved.
'The tragedy of this is that one of this community’s best, most heroic, and most decorated law enforcement officers was removed from our community’s law enforcement team,” Schultz said. “As one deputy testified, our community is less safe without Sgt. Thurman on patrol, and in spite of the damages, that will remain sad for all of us.'
Schultz has argued that Knezovich misrepresented the results of the internal affairs investigation and shared an 'entirely false story to the media” during his 2019 news conference.'"
September 30, 2022- Jury Verdict- $897,190 for wrongful termination in violation of public policy and breach of fiduciary duty.
After ten days of jury trial, a Coeur d’Alene, Idaho jury entered a verdict for $879,190 in favor of Mary Schultz Law client, Coeur d’Alene physician Dr. Thomas Neal, against his former family medicine practice, Ironwood Family Physicians, on claims of wrongful termination and breach of fiduciary
duty. Dr. Neal proved that he was wrongfully terminated as an Ironwood Family Practice shareholder, partner, and employee of 24 years because he refused to allow his Ironwood partners to divert his seriously ill patients needing hospitalization into a Kootenai Health Family Medicine Residency Program for their in-hospital care, instead of the normal admission pathway for such ill patients through Hospitalists and specialists. The two-week trial established that a physician has a duty to use independent medical judgment to ensure the safety of their patients over financial benefit, as a matter of public policy.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/oct/12/coeur-dalene-jury-awards-family-doctor-879000-in-w/
May 30, 2022
Domestic Violence -
Longtime partner suing former Washington QB Mark Rypien-
SPOKANE, Wash. — The former longtime partner of ex-NFL quarterback Mark Rypien has filed a personal injury lawsuit against him alleging years of physical and emotional abuse.
The Spokesman-Review reported that Danielle Wade filed the lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court.
The couple have spoken publicly in the past about violence in their home believed to be a consequence of head trauma Rypien experienced during a 14-year NFL career after playing in college at Washington State.
The lawsuit contains new allegations of violence, beginning as early as 2008 and lasting until September 2020.
Mary Schultz, the attorney representing Wade, said the lawsuit acknowledged Rypien’s diagnosis of traumatic brain injury.
“That does not give him license to assault his wife,” Schultz said.
Links here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/05/31/mark-rypien-partner-lawsuit
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/may/30/years-of-domestic-violence-allegations-prompt-pers/
https://www.q13fox.com/news/longtime-partner-suing-former-washington-qb-mark-rypien
https://wtop.com/nfl/2022/05/longtime-partner-suing-former-washington-qb-mark-rypien/
https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Longtime-partner-suing-former-Washington-QB-Mark-17210338.php
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/article262012247.html
https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20220531/sports/305319925/
https://www.kansascity.com/sports/article261989365.html
https://www.theolympian.com/sports/article261989365.html
https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/article261989365.html
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article261989365.html
June 16, 2021
Press Defamation: Mary Schultz has filed a defamation action against The Cowles Company d/b/a The Spokesman Review on behalf of former Spokane County Sheriff's Sergeant Jeffrey Thurman. The complaint alleges that Cowles let the Sheriff write the news about what a strong anti-racist Sheriff he was, using Cowles company's journalist's byline, so Cowles and the Sheriff both could receive national attention.
April 2021
Federal Anti-Trust/Monopoly: Mary Schultz has filed a Sherman Act Anti-Trust/Monopoly case in Spokane Washington on behalf of two former veterinarian shareholders against National Veterinary Associates and Pet Emergency Clinic for their attempted monopoly of local emergency veterinary care.
A news article notes that:
Two veterinarians who worked at PEC from the early 2000s until 2017 have sued their former employer in a federal antitrust case for unfair business practices.
The vets allege the emergency clinic has worked to create a monopoly in the area while working on a possible sale of the operation to National Veterinary Associates, a company that purchases vet clinics around the world. The merger was in the works when the vets first sued in state court in August 2018 and the deal was halted. It remains suspended, according to the current federal lawsuit filed in November 2020.
While NVA and PEC say the lawsuit is baseless, the vets, in their complaint, point to troubling consolidation of veterinary care around the country that can lead to fewer options for pet owners, drive away talented vets and decrease competition by design.
"Pet Emergency Clinic has been providing local emergency veterinarian care in the Spokane area for over 40 years. PEC is owned by local Spokane veterinarians, who wanted a clinic where they could send their patients when their practices were closed," Swindler says. "PEC believes that the lawsuit brought against it by two former employees/owners is baseless and without merit."
Schultz says. "They already lost on that claim."
Schultz says the court's March ruling allowing the case to move forward literally proves the case is not meritless.
Schultz says a major concern is that in the end, there won't be options for pet owners.
"Ultimately what can happen is the quality of the services previously provided have been lessened, but there's no place else to go," Schultz says. "The prices go up, quality goes down, and you're stuck with it. Those are the dangers of monopolies." ♦
See News and Articles and:
https://www.inlander.com/spokane/two-vets-allege-spokanes-only-24-hour-er-for-pets-is-creating-a-monopoly/Content?oid=21568627
December 3, 2019
Federal Sarbanes Oxley Whistleblower/ Racketeering (RICO): Mary Schultz Law has filed suit on behalf of former Oracle Employee Tayo Daramola against Oracle in the United States District Court in San Francisco in the Northern District of California. The suit alleges Oracle's violation of the Sarbanes -Oxley whistleblower statute, Dodd-Frank, and RICO. The case originated in the Department of Labor in Boston, MA as a SOX whistleblower claim, but has evolved into the current complaint. See news and articles.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/12/04/oracle_product_manager_lawsuit/
http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/872654/trials+appeals+compensation/New+Lawsuit+By+Former+Employee+Alleges+Oracle+Defrauded+Customers+By+Selling+Software+Solutions+That+Did+Not+Exist
https://www.businessinsider.com/oracle-manager-lawsuit-university-education-practices-2019-12
July 2, 2019
Defamation: Former Sheriff's Sergeant files defamation Tort Claim against Spokane County Sheriff. See Multiple news and articles on article page .
September 2018
SOX Whistleblower: Mary Schultz "notches wins for whistleblowers" including recent $640,000 settlement in SOX Whistleblower case against Trimble Navigation Ltd. and current whistleblower claims in progress.
https://www.spokanejournal.com/local-news/mary-schultz-notches-wins-for-whistleblowers/
August 2018
SOX Whistleblower: Mary Schultz Law PS client Steven Honkus recovers $640,000 settlement against Trimble Navigation Ltd., based in Sunnyvale, California, in his federal Sarbanes Oxley whistleblower case. The settlement occurred before trial was to commence on August 13, 2018. Mr. Honkus brought SOX whistleblower claims against Trimble Navigation Ltd. for wrongful termination and retaliation. He alleged that he was retaliated against and terminated during a reduction in force after he presented an investigative report to his supervisors detailing conduct that he believed violated the federal Sarbanes Oxley Act’s reporting requirements for publicly traded corporations such as Trimble.
June 2018
Mary Schultz has been named by Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top attorneys in Washington for 2018- an honor she has received for over ten consecutive years.
June 9, 2018
Civil Rights/Due Process: A federal judge on Friday called the handling by city officials of former Spokane police Chief Frank Straub’s dismissal in 2015 “a hot mess.”
March 9, 2018
Red Lion, Lithia Motors face lawsuits involving sexual harassment claims
Sexual Harassment: Mary Schultz Law has filed two separate cases of harassment/wrongful termination charges against national corporations.
http://www.4-traders.com/RED-LION-HOTELS-CORPORATI-14857/news/Red-Lion-Hotels-Lithia-Motors-face-lawsuits-involving-sexual-harassment-claims-26139910/
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/mar/09/red-lion-hotels-lithia-motors-face-lawsuits-over-s/
January 31, 2018
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is now considering a June-July setting in Seattle WA to hear arguments in former Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub's Appeal arising from his due process claims against the City of Spokane.
December 14, 2017
Medicl Malpractice: Division III Appeals Court reverses trial court and rules in favor of firm client Estate of Michael Dempsey in medical malpractice discovery matter. Ruling enforces limits on opposing party access to expert records. The defense has petitioned for review to the Washington state Supreme Court, and the Estate has responded to request fees.
Estate of Michael Dempsey v Spokane Washington Hospital Co LLC et al, 1 Wash.App.2d. 628 (Dec.14, 2017)
October 11, 2017
Pend Oreille Public Utility District litigation update.
February 21, 2017
Department of Justice Agrees To Settle Assistant United States Attorney's Sex Bias Suit For $225K
Following the filing of an extensive 178 page document laying out the evidence compiled by attorney Mary Schultz in support of former federal prosecutor Jill Bolton, and against the Eastern District of Washington United States Attorney's Office, which summarizes and weaves together deposition testimony, and the high points from over 30,000 pages of documents produced, and following a federal court order allowing in the vast majority of that evidence in, as well as expert testimony, for the upcoming March 20th trial, the Department of Justice settled Bolton's employment discrimination claims.
https://www.law360.com/articles/895003/doj-agrees-to-settle-ex-ausa-s-sex-bias-suit-for-225k
February 21, 2017: Former Assistant United States Attorney Jill Bolton Allowed to Use Sexists Emails as Evidence Against United States Attorneys' Office in Discrimination Claim. Published in LAW360
January 25, 2017: Ex-AUSA Says Boss' Sexist Emails Should Be Shown At Trial
SOX Whistleblower: Nov. 10, 2016: Chief Financial Officer awarded $1.9 million in his SOX Whistleblower claim against NYSE company Community Health Systems Inc. and its subsidiary Rockwood Clinic P.S.
In what may be the largest damage award ever made in a whistleblower case at the Department of Labor, CFO Gregg Becker has received a $1.9 million dollar award for the damage arising from his discharge from Rockwood Clinic P.S. by Community Health Systems Inc. when he repeatedly refused to engage in accounting fraud in violation of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Mr Becker was subjected to continued demand, harassment, and job threat from CHS accounting personnel, and resisted until he was ultimately unlawfully discharged from his job for his refusal.
The 46 page order is here:
Public Accommodation Discrimination/ Private Club: October 3, 2016: Spokane Country Club discrimination verdict and ensuing bankruptcy and sale of the Club has "ripples across the state's private clubs" --The Seattle Times.
Civil Rights/Due Process: February 2, 2016: Former Spokane Chief of Police Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against City of Spokane
Title VII v U.S. Department of Justice: October 21, 2015: Former Female Deputy Criminal Chief files Title VII Discrimination Claim Against United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch - Eastern District of Washington Department of Justice
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/oct/21/female-prosecutor-in-us-attorneys-office-in-spokan/
October 20, 2015: Spokane Country Club Goes Broke Fighting Females
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2015/oct/20/club-goes-broke-fighting-females/
Oct. 14, 2015: United States Bankruptcy Court Orders the Sale of the Spokane Country Club to Pay It's Judgment Debt
Oct. 10, 2015: Doug Clark: Condon, not taxpayers, should cover the cost of Straub Fiasco
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/oct/10/doug-clark-condon-not-taxpayers-should-cover-cost-/
Oct. 9, 2015: Former Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub files $4 million claim against City of Spokane for Due Process Violation
http://www.kxly.com/video/24075572
Oct. 8, 2015: Inlander: Police Chief Straub files $4 million claim against the City of Spokane
Sept. 17, 2015: Washington State Supreme Court upholds former Rockwood Chief Financial Officer Gregg Becker's Right to Proceed in his Wrongful Termination/Retaliation Claim Against Franklin TN based Community Health Systems Inc.
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/wa-supreme-court/1713526.html
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/sep/18/ex-rockwood- cfo-can-sue-clinic-bosses/
Sept. 10, 2015: Spokane Country Club Female Shareholders Dru Hieber, Nancy Van Noy, Laura Skaer and Tracy Villanueva Recover All Jury Verdicts, Interest, Fees and Costs of their Shareholder Discrimination Suit by the Kalispel Tribe's Purchase of the Spokane Golf and Country Club in SCC's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/sep/11/kalispel-tribe-crafts-deal-for-country-club/
Kalispel Tribe Bids for Spokane Country Club in the Club's Ch 11 Bankruptcy
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/aug/01/kalispels-bid-for-spokane-country-club/
Washington Supreme Court Hears Gregg Becker v Community Health Systems on June 9, 2015
http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2015060003
Attorney Mary Schultz appears on PBS's "Frontline"
On June 23, 2015, Mary Schultz will appear on PBS's investigative reporting series "Frontline." Ms. Schultz discusses her experience in employment discrimination matters within the Janitorial industry. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/rape-on-the-night-shift/
San Jose Jury Finds That Corporation Forfeited Invention Ownership Rights Under It's Employee Invention Agreement
On June 9th, 2015 a San Jose, California jury upheld employee rights by finding that an employer corporation forfeited its ownership rights to inventions under an employee invention agreement in favor of the employee inventor. Contractual invention agreements can create traps for employees who invent on their own time and who are required to disclose those inventions to their employer regardless. The jury's finding will protect employees when corporations fail to claim or disclose their intent to claim the invention, while acting in a manner that, from an employee's perspective, contradicts such employer ownership.
Spokane Country Club Headed for Sale
Country Club's efforts to discriminate against its female owners and to avoid and discharge four of its female shareholders' discrimination jury verdicts have jeopardized the 100 year old institution's existence. The Club is now being prepared for sale within the bankruptcy.
-April 26, 2015 Spokesman Review - link in new/articles
SOX Whistleblower: Gregg Becker, former Rockwood Chief Financial Officer, receives Division III Appellate Court Published Decision in His favor in his claim against Franklin TN based Community Health Systems Inc and Spokane's Rockwood Clinic P.S.
http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/?fa=opinions.disp&filename=312348MAJ
Spokane County Superior Court Enters Injunction Prohibiting the Spokane Country Club From Discriminatory Practices
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/aug/01/injunction-against-spokane-country-club-takes-on/
See News and Articles Section
Mary Schultz is a trial attorney with over 38 years of litigation experience in whistleblower law, medical and oral surgery malpractice, wrongful termination and employment discrimination, commercial and contract disputes, and financially complex dissolution cases.
Annual Awards
***** 2024-2001 Best Lawyers in America - Litigation- Labor and Employment; Medical Malpractice-Plaintiff; Criminal Defense- White Collar Litigation.
***** 2024- 2011 Best Law Firms in America- Tier 1- US News and World Report, Best Law Firms, Employment Law and Medical Malpractice.
**** 2024-2000 Superlawyers - Washington Journal of Law and Politics.
**** 2024-2012 National Trial Lawyers Top 100.
**** 2023-2016 National Trial Lawyers Top 25 and Top 10 lists.
**** 2023-2006 Litigation Counsel of America- Founding Fellow and Senior Fellow.
**** 2023-2015 Avvo Superb Rating.
**** 2022-2009 Spokane's Top Lawyers, Spokane Couer D' Alene Living Magazine.
**** 2014 Washington's Top 50 Women Attorneys, Washington Journal of Law and Politics
Lawyer of the Year Awards
**** 2014 Plaintiff's Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America--Medical Malpractice- Spokane.
**** 2012 Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America-Labor and Employment Litigation-Spokane.
**** 2013 Labor and Employment Law Firm of the Year-- Washington- Mergers and Acquisitions International.
**** 2014 Medical Negligence Firm of the Year - Mergers and Acquisitions International.
**** 2010 Spokane's top medical negligence lawyer, Spokane Couer D'Alene Living magazine
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. -- Anais Nin
Practice Areas
