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A Small (but Satisfying) Victory
by Catherine Shepard-Haier
It took two lawyers, a superior court case, and eighteen
months, but I finally got the $500 UC owed me.
In 1994 I sued the chair of the Plant Biology Department,
where I had been Management Services Officer, for discrimination
under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He had chosen to treat the
limitations of my illness as deliberate misbehavior in spite of
twenty years of superior work performance at UC. An internal
grievance brought no assistance; I was shunned by my colleagues for
complaining.
In 1995 I settled out of court for $47,500 and some
non-monetary commitments which UC has never met. The settlement
provided that UC was to pay me thirty days after I signed it; when
nothing was paid, my attorney filed a breach of contract suit. I
received the money a month late, in January 1996, by which time UC
owed me about $500 in interest.
First, UC's lawyers warned me that they would fight to the
maximum to avoid paying the $500. Then, in February, 1997, they
offered to pay me if I would drop the chairman's name from the suit
and agree that the contract had not been broken. I refused the latter
condition; UC finally agreed to pay me when they received a court
judgment in my favor.
When my first lawyer neglected to follow this up I found a
new attorney. He obtained the judgment against UC, but still no check
came. We then filed a notice with the court for a creditor's
examination requiring a representative of UC to attend a deposition
and reveal UC's assets so we could place a lien on them. I relished
the thought of a legal claim on UC's billions, but they finally sent
the $500 on July 8, 1997.
I'm sure UC spent more than $500 fighting me. I had already
spent most of it in legal fees, but it was worth it to obtain a rare
judgment against UC after their hostile response to my original
grievance and their arrogant refusal to meet the terms of my
settlement. I used to think plaintiffs spoke in exaggerated terms
about UC's expensive and hostile legal tactics, but now I know
differently.
-wage@wage.org-