Sullivan Settles Associate’s Gay Bias Suit
Sullivan & Cromwell has agreed to settle a gay bias lawsuit filed by New York associate Aaron Charney.
Details of the settlement were confidential, the New York Law Journal reports.
Charney had alleged the firm discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation and retaliated when he filed an internal complaint. The firm had a reputation as a gay-friendly workplace, but Charney claimed that didn’t insulate him from poor treatment.
Among Charney’s claims were that he went to the office of partner Eric Krautheimer to retrieve a document, only to see him toss it on the floor, New York Magazine has reported. “Bend over and pick it up,” Charney claims Krautheimer said. “I’m sure you like that.” Krautheimer has disagreed with Charney’s version of the event, the magazine says, and another witness did not think his comments were homophobic.
Charney had also claimed he learned in a review that partners had complained he was too close to another male associate and said another lawyer at the firm accused him of an “unnatural” relationship.
A judge had dismissed parts of Charney’s complaint late last month that claimed intentional infliction of emotional distress and conspiracy. The conspiracy charge had contended the firm conspired to get him to destroy his computer’s hard drive so it could pursue a claim he had destroyed evidence.
Earlier, a judge tossed some of Sullivan’s claims that Charney’s complaint exposed firm confidences, saying similar information was on the firm Web site and in press releases.
