$1.5M Payment to Harborside Discrimination Claims
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Harborside, a California cannabis company, agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve a years-old discrimination lawsuit.
Details of the Case: Moothery v. FLRish Retail Management and Security Services LLC et al
Court: Superior Court of California, Alameda County
Case No.: RG18908395
The Plaintiff: Moothery v. FLRish Retail Management and Security Services LLC et al
The plaintiff, Scott Moothery, is an African American, former employee who alleges he was consistently berated and harassed on the job about his age and his race. In 2015 when Moothery was hired as Harborside’s bookkeeper, he was in his 70s. According to the lawsuit originally filed in 2018, Moothery was promoted multiple times, and received praise for his work, but was fired after he complained about the treatment he received from Harborside’s controller. According to the lawsuit, Moothery was one of five employees of color out of 120 staffers at Harborside. The plaintiff sought $1.13 million in damages. The company agreed to pay a settlement higher than the amount the plaintiff sought in order to resolve all the claims.
The Defendant: Moothery v. FLRish Retail Management and Security Services LLC et al
The Defendant in the case is California cannabis company Harborside or FLRish Retail Management and Security Services LLC et al. Harborside claims they settled to avoid the additional costs related to moving forward with the suit. The lawsuit has seen active litigation since the original filing in 2018. According to the company, the $1.5 million will be paid out in one installment.
The History of the Case: Moothery v. FLRish Retail Management and Security Services LLC et al
Moothery claims the issues at work started when Peter Moran started work as the company’s controller. According to the plaintiff, Moran screamed at him in the office, berated him about supposed failures, assigned him tasks unrelated to his job, threatened to replace him, left him out of meetings, criticized his work in conversations with coworkers, etc. In 2016, Moothery complained about the treatment he was receiving to human resources, advising them that the treatment was unique in comparison to the way other employees were treated. According to the lawsuit, a few days later Moothery was fired.
Overview of the Case: Moothery v. FLRish Retail Management and Security Services LLC et al
Moothery's suit brought claims of discrimination, retaliation, defamation, harassment, wrongful termination, etc. According to court records, the settlement deal was officially struck in court June 4th, 2021, just a few weeks before the case was scheduled for trial.
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