Attorney Morris E Fischer's Legal Cases

Employment and labor

H.K. v. Major U.S. Bank

Jun 19, 2020

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement Agreement

Our office represented Assistant Vice President, Charge Off Operations Manager. In October 2018, our client identified an $850 million error caused by the Bank’s loan charge off macros that caused the ... Bank to incorrectly claim hundreds of millions of dollars to the Bank’s reported assets. The situation arose because the Bank utilized a spreadsheet “macro” algorithm that calculated loan values, defaults, and asset values. However, that algorithm contained a critical error that caused the loan values and Bank assets to, at times, be dramatically overstated. Our client blew the whistle on that issue. Also, our client blew the whistle on a bank practice in which the bank cherry-picked selective loans and settlement and applied those transactions to make the forecast appear real to both investors and the federal government. However, these accounting methods were mirages and the true mortgage portfolio reflected something very different. After his disclosures, the bank fired our client. After we were retained, we aggressively got involved and told the company that these practices violated the Sarbanes Oxley Act, 18 U.S.C. §1514A which prohibits retaliation against whistleblowers that (1) provide information…regarding any conduct which the employee reasonable believes constitutes a violation of [the securities laws] to “a person with supervisory authority over the employee…” §1514A(a)(1). We successfully negotiated a substantial confidential settlement.

Discrimination

Charles Kyle Limbo, SR. v. Department of the Navy, MSPB, PH-315H-20-0268-I-1

Jun 17, 2020

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement Agreement

Our Client was an Administrative/Technical Specialist. His duties included the oversight of the proper distribution of military equipment. Our client was of a different race than everyone else in his c ... omponent. His first line supervisor imposed certain restrictions on him, thereby preventing him from gaining assistance from his co-workers. Several of his African-American co-workers spoke up on his behalf and attested in their EEO Report of Investigation interviews as to the disparate treatment and racial bias the supervisor demonstrated against him. Because of these co-workers’ bravery, we were able to obtain a confidential settlement in the face of our client’s removal.

Employment and labor

D.B. v. Major N.Y. Investment Bank

Jun 04, 2020

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement Agreement

Our office represented a highly experienced financial-tech executive, who had a long and established career including senior roles of Head of Advisory and Operations and Group Decision Science. He was ... also a former senior executive with Goldman Sachs. He was recruited away from his last major N.Y. Investment Banking employer to a premier growing financial technology firm with a $5.5 billion valuation. Unfortunately, about six weeks after he began employment before he could even assemble his team, the new employer terminated him contending that they were going in another direction. Without filing a lawsuit, we successfully negotiated a confidential severance package for our client and reached a settlement within six weeks of our involvement. The settlement included a cash settlement payment and immediate vesting of stock options, potentially worth millions.

Employment and labor

Demaris Belanger v. FEMA, EEOC No. 570-2018-00401X

Apr 27, 2020

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement Agreement

We represented a Federal employee, a female, who was a Program Analyst, GS-0343-14. She worked in the office of the Chief Component Human Capital Officer. The Chief Component Human Capital Officer and ... highest-ranking individual in the division made one reorganization decision, to effectively demote and degrade Ms. Belanger’s management position by removing her supervisory authority and reassigning her direct reports. The other five male managers at our client’s level did not have their jobs impacted. The Agency attempted to explain away these events under the cover of a “reorganization”. However, when the Agency couldn’t specifically address the disparity in gender treatment at deposition or in Summary Judgment, the EEOC Administrative Judge Denied the Agency’s Summary Judgment motion, which led to a confidential settlement agreement.

Employment and labor

Twila Smith v. Ergo Solutions, LLC, et al (19-7135)

Feb 18, 2020

OUTCOME: Appeal Won - United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Won an appeal upholding a 2019 jury verdict at the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Employment and labor

P. S. v. Department of Defense (Security Clearance Matter)

Nov 14, 2019

OUTCOME: FEDERAL EMPLOYEE REINSTATED AND SECURITY CLEARANCE REVOCATION REVERSED

Federal employee had his access to classified information suspended clearance revoked for prior drug use, primarily during his college years. Our client was accused of cultivating, manufacturing, proc ... essing, selling and distributing illegal narcotics. We successfully obtained a favorable disposition enabling our client to maintain his access to classified information, security clearance and keep his position.

Discrimination

Smith v. Ergo Solutions, LLC 14-cv-00382-JDB

Sep 24, 2019

OUTCOME: Representing the Defendant - Defendants' Jury Verdict

Another jury trial win defending the company on sexual harassment and gender discrimination charges. In a four and a half day grueling jury trial, the plaintiff alleged that the Ergo Solutions C.E.O. h ... ad created a hostile work environment, made numerous unwanted propositions her for sexual activity, sent unwanted, lewd sexual pictures and that Ergo terminated her job after her refusals. The plaintiff sued the company and the C.E.O. individually. After an hour and a half of deliberations, the jury returned a DEFENDANTS' VERDICT.

Employment and labor

Mount v. Department of Homeland Security, 18-1762

Aug 29, 2019

OUTCOME: United States First Circuit Court of Appeals sides with Morris E. Fischer, Esq. and Remands the MSPB Administrative Judge's dismissal for Further Proceedings

This was an Appeal filed under the All Circuit Review Extension Act in the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Boston, Massachusetts. The MSPB Administrative Judge dismissed Mr. Jason Mount's perceived whi ... stleblower claim, contending that his OSC complaint failed to specify the term, "perceived whistleblower." The Court made new law holding, " [f]or the first time in this Circuit, we hold that the WPA only requires that complainant include sufficient factual basis to enable the agency to investigate." This holding effectively holds MSPB Administrative Judges to a much higher standard in dismissing whistleblower cases. Case picked up by Law Justia: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca1/18-1762/18-1762-2019-08-29.html

Employment and labor

Coniglio v. New York Community Bancorp, Inc., 2:18-cv-06921-JFB-GRB

Aug 27, 2019

OUTCOME: Confidential Settlement Resolution

We represented Donna Coniglio a Long Island, NY resident in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York on an age discrimination and retaliation case. Ms. Coniglio had a successful c ... areer in the banking industry and she was a long standing member of the Association of Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialists. She spent a number of years in the New York Community Bancorp’s Community Reinvestment Assistant/Community Development Lending Department as a CRA Manager. She managed a team charged with conducting investigations on cases and alerts produced through the bank’s automated monitoring system or through internal referrals, subpoenas or 90 Day/continuing Suspicious Activity Reviews. She then continued her successful career in the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti Money Laundering department. The litigation led to a confidential resolution in 2019.

Employment and labor

Marilyn Garcia v. DHS (ICE), EEOC No. 510-2017-00407X

Oct 12, 2018

OUTCOME: Default Judgment in our favor - Granted by the EEOC, Administrative Judge

My client, Marilyn Garcia was targeted by SAC Miami SIP management in many ways after complaining about discrimination. She received poor undeserved reviews; she was accused of using large amounts of l ... eave unnecessarily; she was issued a letter of reprimand for conduct that occurred four years earlier. We fought the agency tooth and nail at the administrative, Report of Investigation stage and we obtained a default judgment sanction for the agency failing to conduct a timely ROI and misleading the Court about it.

Morris E Fischer's Legal Cases (59)

H.K. v. Major U.S. Bank

Charles Kyle Limbo, SR. v. Department of the Navy, MSPB, PH-315H-20-0268-I-1

D.B. v. Major N.Y. Investment Bank

Demaris Belanger v. FEMA, EEOC No. 570-2018-00401X

Twila Smith v. Ergo Solutions, LLC, et al (19-7135)

P. S. v. Department of Defense (Security Clearance Matter)

Smith v. Ergo Solutions, LLC 14-cv-00382-JDB

Mount v. Department of Homeland Security, 18-1762

Coniglio v. New York Community Bancorp, Inc., 2:18-cv-06921-JFB-GRB

Marilyn Garcia v. DHS (ICE), EEOC No. 510-2017-00407X