In 50 days, KUSI’s proprietor will probably face a jury trial within the pay-equity and gender-and-age discrimination case of ex-anchor Sandra Maas.
On Thursday, San Diego Superior Court docket Choose Ronald Frazier issued a tentative ruling on a number of motions by McKinnon Broadcasting Co. He denied all of them.
“They’ve misplaced each movement they’ve ever filed on this case,” mentioned Maas lawyer Josh Gruenberg.
On Friday, Frazier will give KUSI attorneys a ultimate shot at justifying why Maas has no points a jury ought to hear in a trial.
MBC in July sought abstract judgment in an effort to derail the 3-year-old case, however Frazier seems set to maintain it on monitor.
Maas “has established a prima facie case” that she wasn’t paid as a lot as Allen Denton, her male co-anchor, Frazier wrote in a two-page ruling, including: “The court docket finds [KUSI] has not met its preliminary burden of manufacturing as as to if the pay inequity was for authentic enterprise causes unrelated to gender.”
Gruenberg declared that Maas wouldn’t settle out of court docket, and informed Instances of San Diego he thought there’s a 95% probability the trial would begin on its assigned date — Dec. 2.
“This can be a case that’s older than numerous different instances on the choose’s docket,” he mentioned in a cellphone interview. “This case is the poster youngster for the [California] Equal Pay Act.”
Frazier additionally discovered “materials problems with triable truth” within the longtime anchor’s allegations of age and gender discrimination.
The tentative ruling additionally suggests Maas, 59, has proof that she was the sufferer of retaliation by KUSI, the place she labored from 2004 to 2019.
Frazier additionally denied motions to power Maas to supply 10 emails to former KUSI colleague Anna Laurel and make her give a second deposition.
“On the outset, [KUSI] didn’t submit a separate assertion in assist of this movement, as required by court docket guidelines,” the choose wrote. “Because of this procedural defect, it’s not clear … which requests for manufacturing are even in dispute.”
Frazier famous that KUSI and Maas disagreed on whether or not all paperwork have been turned over, however he has “no manner of figuring out what’s or will not be in [Maas’] possession on a discovery movement.”
Administration and legal professionals for the conservative San Diego station didn’t instantly reply to e mail requests for remark.
Gruenberg, a veteran at comparable fits, mentioned: “What’s distinctive about this equal-pay case is you’ve gotten a girl actually performing the identical job and tasks as the guy sitting subsequent to her. They’re splitting the news-reading duties.”
He’ll have Maas’ former colleagues to vouch for her.
He cites his deposition of Joe Riddle, a former government producer of KUSI Information.
Gruenberg mentioned he requested Riddle whether or not he thought-about Maas an equal of Denton (who made as a lot as $80,000 extra a yr).
Riddle at first mentioned: “Effectively, I don’t know,” Gruenberg recounted.
However after a pause, Riddle replied: “Let me put it to you this manner: When we have now one thing actually essential to impart to our listeners … one thing that we actually wished to emphasise, we made certain Sandra learn it.”
Gruenberg mentioned he muted the Zoom name and gave his co-counsel a high-five.
