Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo firm Celadon House look set to face a whistleblower lawsuit from a previous employee. Working as part of the home furnishing store in the past, the employee is taking Celadon House to court for wrongful termination and emotional distress. Represented by Anticouni & Associates, the claim is that the employer has forged a declaration and also forged the signature of the employee to beat back a Worker’s Compensation claim.

The employee, named Susanne Bjornson, worked at the retail store in the past. She alleges that she was in work the day that a fellow employee was hurt during moving some furniture. Having filed a claim against the company as part of her Worker’s Compensation package, Anticouni & Associates claim that the company did not hold Worker’s Compensation insurance, breaking Californian law in the process.

They also allege that Kelli Thornton and Cherisse Sweeney, the owners of the company, had prepared a Declaration in the name of Bjornson without her knowledge. Within the Declaration, it was claimed that the employee in question did not move injury, nor did they report the injury afterward. The lawsuit also makes the claim that one of the two owners then forged the signature of Bjornson on the document.

An ‘unlawful act’

Bjornson, for her part, claims that she was never interviewed by Cleadon House, and that the statements made in the Declaration are not true. In the claim, the argument is made that Bjornson is fearful of being caught up in an ‘unlawful act’ and thus chose to resign from the company immediately.

Bruce Anticouni, speaking on behalf of Bjornson, said: “When an employee is faced with working conditions so intolerable that reasonable person would have no other alternative except to resign, there has been a ‘constructive’ discharge of employment. The resignation is legally considered a termination of employment,

“The lawsuit alleges the Company forged Ms. Bjornson’s signature for an unlawful purpose. The two owners also violated the law by not having Workers’ Compensation insurance. Ms. Bjornson had no choice but to resign. Her forced termination was unlawful.”

A former employee and whistleblower of alleged fraudulent practices has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Deutsche Bank AG. The former employee Gary DeDilectis said he repeatedly pointed out to his banking superiors potential fraudulent practices and was fired without warning as a result.

According to Fox Business, “Gary DeDilectis, who worked as a director of equity operations and asset servicing at the bank for more than four years, alleged that the bank violated the whistleblower protections of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

“In his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, DeDilectis contended he was fired in January 2012 after repeatedly telling his superiors about ‘potentially fraudulent conduct’ by Deutsche Bank. His job was terminated ‘without warning or any explanation,’ he said.”

The lawsuit states that during the Thanksgiving 2011 break, bank systems were upgraded and as a result over $1 million in overcharges went to various clients who were unaware of the costs.

As soon as the Minnesota Interstate 35W Bridge collapsed, there was an immediate call from the public regarding who was responsible for this tragedy. While the cause and responsibility of the bridge collapse may be 6 months to 1 year away as investigators put together the pieces of what had happened, initial reports say that lawsuits are immanent.

Private contractors and insurers could face hundreds of millions of dollars in wrongful death lawsuits and to a much lesser extent, the government could face a much smaller payout as well. Minnesota state’s liability is limited to $1 million total in the incident. Besides wrongful death, other insurance claims will most likely involve auto claims, property damage, worker’s compensation and even business interruption.

The father of fatally injured St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher, Josh Hancock, is suing a restaurant owned by another former St. Louis Cardinal. Dean Hancock has decided to sue Mike Shannon’s Restaurant over the wrongful death of his son according to the state’s dram shop liability laws.

The lawsuit is for more than $25,000 from the restaurant who was allegedly serving Josh Hancock drinks for 3 ½ hours after a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game had ended on April 28. Josh Hancock afterwards was driving 68 mph in a 55 mph zone and hit the back of a tow truck as he was talking on a cell phone with his blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit.

The tow truck company, Eddie’s Towing and the driver of the stalled car that was being towed are also named in the lawsuit.