Susan North, Co-Managing Partner of the firm’s Richmond and Williamsburg offices, and Williamsburg Partner Jonathan Gonzalez have secured a post-trial ruling in the Fairfax County Circuit Court on a motion notwithstanding the jury verdict in favor of an inpatient mental health facility in Northern Virginia.
The plaintiff, a mental health therapist, alleged that her employment was terminated in retaliation for blowing the whistle on the hospital’s alleged understaffing shortly after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the jury found for the defendant on the whistleblower claim but for the plaintiff on a related termination in violation of public policy claim. After post-trial motions, the judge overturned the verdict in favor of the plaintiff on the public policy claim as it was unsupportable as a matter of law. The whistleblower protection statute at issue in the case was a new law, and this trial represents one of the first rulings interpreting the statute.
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