Parkland Prevails in Employment Discrimination Lawsuit

January 20, 2010

Dallas – A federal jury in Dallas has returned a take-nothing verdict in favor of Parkland Health & Hospital System after rejecting a civil rights discrimination lawsuit filed by a longtime Parkland employee.

Attorney E. Leon Carter of Munck Carter in Dallas represented Parkland along with attorneys Michael McCabe and Jennifer Ingram, also of Munck Carter.  Parkland in-house attorney Carolyn Foster along with Parkland paralegal Yolanda Sanchez assisted in the defense.

Mariah Hill Scott, 57, of Dallas, worked at Parkland as a Commodities Manager.  In her lawsuit, Ms. Scott claimed that she was unlawfully denied promotions to managerial-level positions and terminated from employment, and that a Parkland vice president discriminated against her based on her race and gender.

Ms. Scott sought reinstatement and nearly $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees and other expenses.

After a three-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the jury found in favor of Parkland and against Scott on every claim she had asserted.  As a result of the finding, the hospital may choose to file a motion to recover its costs and expenses from the plaintiff.

“We’re pleased that the jury considered all of the evidence presented in the case and found, in less than an hour, that there was no basis to the allegations against the hospital,” Mr. Carter says.  “Parkland is sensitive to the diverse ethnic mix represented by its employees, physicians and patients, and strives to follow all applicable laws regarding employment practices.”

Munck Carter is a complex commercial litigation firm with offices in Dallas and Marshall, Texas, with an emphasis on patent, trade secret and other intellectual property disputes.  The firm offers full-service counsel in the areas of intellectual property litigation, complex commercial litigation, intellectual property portfolio development, corporate transactions and securities, and employment law.  Munck Carter represents clients from start-ups to Fortune 50TM companies.

More information is available at http://www.munckcarter.com.

For more information on the Scott case or to speak with Leon Carter, please contact Mark Annick at 214-559-4630 or mark@androvett.com.

While we would like to hear from you, please understand that merely contacting Munck Wilson Mandala does not create an attorney-client relationship with us or impose any obligation on us. Please do not send us any confidential or sensitive information unless and until you have first talked to one of our attorneys and we have entered into a written engagement letter that establishes an attorney-client relationship with us. When you execute an engagement letter from Munck Wilson Mandala, you will be our client, and then we may exchange information freely.

By clicking “OK” below, you agree that we may review any information you transmit to us. You also agree that, even if the information you send us is highly confidential and is transmitted in a good faith effort to retain us, our review of your information does not preclude us from representing another client directly adverse to you, even in a matter where that information could be used against you.