Kotla Case Finally Settled On October 28, 2005; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Agrees To Pay A Total Of Over $6,000,000 Including $3,950,000 In Attorney’s Fees

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kotla case was finally resolved by an agreement for the Lab to pay the sum of $3,950,000 in costs and attorneys fees to Dee Kotla on Friday, October 28, 2005. The Lab had previously paid the sum of $2,172,453.72, giving a total of $6,122,453.72 for the full payment of the case.

It has been almost 9 years since the Lab retaliated against Dee Kotla for testifying for a fellow employee at the Lab. She was fired on February 20, 1997. The jury initially awarded her the sum of $1,000,000 in March of 2002. The case was reversed on appeal and the second trial was held and the jury gave her the sum of $2,127,000 in March of 2005. The case has received widespread attention from the media and directly lead to the change in the law. The recent Energy Bill added a provision that the contractors need to bear responsibility for their own attorney’s fees and costs. This section was added primarily due to the publicity about the Kotla case. This case could have been settled for $500,000 early on but the Lab and UC continued to take it through 2 trials and appeal before they finally paid it off.

The amount of the defense attorney’s fees and costs is unknown at this time. They will have to file an accounting of these costs in the future. It is estimated that the total cost to the taxpayers in this case will be well in excess of $10 million.

Dee Kotla’s attorney, J. Gary Gwilliam, stated as follows:

“My client and I are very pleased that this case is finally resolved. Dee is a courageous woman who stood up for what she believed in. She has become an inspiration to those employees at the University of California and others who appreciate the courage of her fighting for her convictions.”

This case is a prime example of a total waste of government funds and intransigent attitude on the part of the contractor (the Lab and UC) in failing to resolve this case for reasonable settlements throughout the almost 9 years of this litigation.

The Kotla case is one of the largest final judgments for a single wrongful termination/whistleblower case in the State of California and the nation.

The case has recently been nominated for trial lawyer of the year by the Consumer Attorneys of California.

Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer

CONTACT: J. Gary Gwilliam, Esq. of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli &Brewer, +1-510-832-5411, or fax, +1-510-832-1918

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