Alice Rowe thought a job at Pacific Quad, Inc., would be a gateway into the computer industry. But just two weeks later, she quit, alleging that her supervisor, Stanley Schmit, had sexually harassed her, and the owner of the company, John Walsh, had ratified the harassment. Schmit and Walsh claimed that Rowe was highly emotional and a poor employee, and she would have been terminated based on performance issues had she not quit.
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Rowe brought an action under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Nita Fair Employment Act (which mirrors the California Fair Employment & Housing Act) for sexual harassment and wrongful discharge. She claimed lost wages, medical expenses for psychotherapy, emotional distress, and punitive damages. Pacific Quad offered to have Schmit write a letter of apology, but denied liability or damages.
This case can be tried on both liability and damages or solely on the issue of liability. There are three witnesses for the plaintiff and three for the defendant. Numerous exhibits have been updated for this Sixth Edition of Rowe v. Pacific Quad, including Tweets referencing the #MeToo movement and text messages by Schmit. Rowe’s wage information was updated throughout the depositions and witness statements, and paragraphs were added to explain the new Tweets and texts.
A deposition version of Rowe v. Pacific Quad, Inc. is also available in plaintiff, defendant, and faculty versions. The deposition and trial files are fully integrated, so that students may use the deposition materials to study deposition practice using the NITA method, and then go on to study trial practice using the trial materials. The deposition version reflects the reality of deposition practice, when each party only has certain documents. The plaintiff file contains materials only available to the plaintiff side to aid in prepping for depositions. The defendant file contains materials only available to defendant side. The faculty file contains both the plaintiff and defendant material and is for instructor use. Teaching notes and problems are also available.