Employment Law | Expert Legal Commentary
November 9, 2009
Van Asdale v. Int’l Game Tech.: In-house Counsel Can Bring SOX Whistleblower Claim
Van Asdale v. International Game Technology
By
Jeremy J. Gray of Zuber & Taillieu
The Ninth Circuit ruled that two in-house counsel could sue their former employer for wrongful termination under the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower provision, stating that the plaintiffs only needed to demonstrate that they reasonably believed fraud had occurred, not that fraud actually had occurred. In Van Asdale v. International Game Technology, 577 F.3d 989 (9th Cir. 2009), a case of first impression for the Ninth Circuit on the substantive SOX whistleblower claims, was a nationwide case of first impression on the question of whether in-house counsel could bring such claims, especially when their claims might involve disclosure of attorney-client privileged information. The Court determined that the potential disclosure of privileged information did not bar in-house attorneys from asserting the claim.
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About the Author
Jeremy J. Gray is a Partner of Zuber & Taillieu, focusing on employment law.
Image Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/NickyBlade
