Nicholas Lore v. Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corp.

Nicholas Lore, age 63, sued Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation on a Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) violation theory claiming that his employer for firing him from the $600,000 a year job for seeking to take time off to deal with some medical problems that he was experiencing. Lore had worked for Chase for about a year when he told his supervisor that he felt ill, needed to rest and get a physical examination because of pain that prevented him from sleeping more than a few hours a night. Specifically, Lore said he suffered from pain in his groin and when he urinated -- plus knee pain from a 1960s-era military service injury, which rendered him 30 percent permanently disabled. He eventually told Chase that he needed to take a vacation or use FMLA time and asked which would be appropriate. He claimed that his manager told him he could take time off once the company hired another manager to handle some of his duties. But months passed, and no manager was hired. In April 2002, according to court documents, Lore again approached his supervisor about taking time off. The supervisor, Lore said, agreed to discuss the issue with others in the company and get back to him. He asserted that Chase started trying to shove him out. He was then told that Chase was accepting his resignation even though he did not want nor intend to resign. He claimed that the Chase fired him in retaliation for attempting to exercise his rights.

Chase claimed that Lore told him manager that he was quiting and never mentioned any health issues. Chase counterclaimed against Lore claiming that after he left the bank, he violated certain provisions of the Georgia Trade Secrets Act by selling confidential information about Chase's relationship managers' compensation plans to a competitor -- HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. -- for $2,000.

Plaintiff's verdict for $2.2 million. Once liquidated damages equal to the amount of the verdict as well as prejudgment interest are added in -- both are mandated under the FMLA -- the former employee's recovery could fall somewhere between $6.2 million and $7.6 million.

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