David W. Garland

High-Stakes Trial Victories

• Took over a case, on the eve of trial, for a global manufacturer accused of Title VII race discrimination and retaliation. David and his team swiftly assembled the case, unearthed information that prior counsel had failed to uncover, and persuasively argued the client's position at trial. The federal court jury, after deliberating for a mere 35 minutes, returned a verdict in the client's favor.
• Secured a jury verdict for a hospital in a disability discrimination case—even though the decision-maker was unavailable for trial and had not been deposed. David successfully used exceptions to the hearsay rule to get before the jury the decision-maker’s non-discriminatory reasons for her termination decision. The jury returned the verdict within an hour.
• Won a three-week jury trial for a large hotel and entertainment company, in which the former employee had alleged a hostile work environment based on age.
• Won a month-long jury trial for a health care communications business where the chief executive officer had been accused of sexual harassment.
• Won a two-week jury trial for a large public utility company where the plaintiff had claimed that he had been discharged because of his disability.
• Retained after discovery had been concluded and summary judgment denied, David secured a jury verdict for his client in a pay discrimination case.

Appellate and Precedent-Setting Matters

• Successfully defended a leading technology company in a case involving claims of unpaid wages, age discrimination, and whistleblower retaliation under federal and state laws. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment on the discrimination and wage claims, dismissed the whistleblower claims, and denied the plaintiff’s motion to amend the complaint. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal.
• Achieved a significant victory for a global financial services company in an age discrimination lawsuit brought under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) by a former employee who alleged he was terminated 10 months after the company hired two younger team members. The court granted summary judgment, finding no evidence of discriminatory intent or pretext, and the dismissal was affirmed on appeal.
• Successfully defended an international business services company against federal, state, and city discrimination claims brought by a former employee of the company. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment on the federal claims, and the Second Circuit affirmed. The New York State Supreme Court dismissed the state and city law claims on collateral estoppel grounds. The New York State Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the state court’s dismissal.

• Won a significant appellate victory for a global media organization, in which a former employee alleged that the organization had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not providing a reasonable accommodation for his migraine headaches. David and his team argued that one's claimed inability to perform a single job does not rise to the level of disability, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit adopted their argument in a precedent-setting opinion.
• Represented a client in a case of first impression brought against it by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which claimed that the client had entered into an oral settlement agreement during the conciliation process. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the EEOC's complaint.
• Defended a global financial services company in a case in which the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, held that a former employee's disability discrimination claim should have been dismissed on the employer's summary judgment motion.

Whistleblower and Trade Secrets Disputes

• Represented a multinational insurance brokerage and risk management firm in a high-stakes case involving breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, and tortious interference, securing a preliminary injunction to prevent a competitor and former employees from soliciting clients and misusing confidential information.
• Quashed a $7 million whistleblower claim filed against a national insurance company by the president of the company's subsidiary. David succeeded in transferring the case from a court to arbitration, and the arbitrator ruled in favor of the insurance company.

Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Cases

• Successfully represented a global consulting firm in a Title VII, ADA, New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), and New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) case involving allegations of pregnancy discrimination, failure to accommodate cancer, and retaliation, achieving partial summary judgment and successfully narrowing the case to claims that had little associated damages.
• Successfully represented a leading financial services company in a case involving claims of sexual harassment, disability discrimination, and retaliation, securing summary judgment to dismiss the complaint and uphold the client’s anti-discrimination and harassment policies. On appeal, the First Department affirmed summary judgment.
• Successfully represented a multinational business services company in a case involving claims of sexual harassment, retaliation, and pay discrimination under the NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and New York Labor Law. After compelling arbitration, David defeated the complainant’s efforts to obtain privileged documents and secured key admissions at deposition, resulting in a favorable settlement for the client.
• Secured dismissal of key claims in a case alleging sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation against a prominent corporate client. The court granted our motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims of discriminatory termination and retaliation, finding insufficient allegations of the client’s role in the employment decisions and affirming that the terminations were due to lack of work.
• Successfully defended a multinational professional services company in a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit under Title VII, the ADA, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the NYSHRL, and the NYCHRL. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment, finding no hostile work environment or evidence of discrimination, and upheld the legitimacy of the plaintiff’s termination as part of a company-wide reduction in force.
• Achieved a significant victory for a global financial information and media company in an age discrimination lawsuit under the NJLAD. The court granted summary judgment, finding the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination and rejecting pretext arguments, including claims related to performance management and severance practices, resulting in dismissal of the case.
• Represented a multinational corporation in a discrimination case before the New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR). Following the submission of a detailed position statement, the NYSDHR dismissed the case, finding insufficient evidence to support allegations of discrimination based on age, gender identity or expression, and race/color.

Workplace Policy and Employee Rights Matters

• Convinced a court not to enjoin a manufacturing company's security policy meant to protect the company's precious metals. The policy allowed the company to conduct searches requiring the removal of clothing, as warranted by the circumstances. Three female employees sued to block the policy. After David argued that the policy was reasonable, the court upheld it.
• Convinced the New Jersey Supreme Court that an employer's leave policy was not discriminatory, despite a pregnant employee's claim that the policy disparately impacted females.
• Created comprehensive nationwide time-off policies for a global information services company.

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.