Parkland Prevails in Employment Discrimination Lawsuit

Dallas – A federal jury in Dallas has returned a take-nothing verdict in favor of Parkland Health & Hospital System after rejecting a civil rights discrimination lawsuit filed by a longtime Parkland employee.

Attorney E. Leon Carter of Munck Carter in Dallas represented Parkland along with attorneys Michael McCabe and Jennifer Ingram, also of Munck Carter.  Parkland in-house attorney Carolyn Foster along with Parkland paralegal Yolanda Sanchez assisted in the defense.

Mariah Hill Scott, 57, of Dallas, worked at Parkland as a Commodities Manager. In her lawsuit, Ms. Scott claimed that she was unlawfully denied promotions to managerial-level positions and terminated from employment, and that a Parkland vice president discriminated against her based on her race and gender.

Ms. Scott sought reinstatement and nearly $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees and other expenses.

After a three-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the jury found in favor of Parkland and against Scott on every claim she had asserted. As a result of the finding, the hospital may choose to file a motion to recover its costs and expenses from the plaintiff.

“We’re pleased that the jury considered all of the evidence presented in the case and found, in less than an hour, that there was no basis to the allegations against the hospital,” Mr. Carter says. “Parkland is sensitive to the diverse ethnic mix represented by its employees, physicians and patients, and strives to follow all applicable laws regarding employment practices.”

Munck Carter is a complex commercial litigation firm with offices in Dallas and Marshall, Texas, with an emphasis on patent, trade secret and other intellectual property disputes.  The firm offers full-service counsel in the areas of intellectual property litigation, complex commercial litigation, intellectual property portfolio development, corporate transactions and securities, and employment law.  Munck Carter represents clients from start-ups to Fortune 50^TM companies.

More information is available at http://www.munckcarter.com.

For more information on the Scott case or to speak with Leon Carter, please contact Mark Annick at 214-559-4630 or mark@androvett.com.