Last week, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals issued a precedential opinion in Nitkin v. Main Line Health, a sexual harassment employment case in Pennsylvania. Such precedential opinions tend to be rare in employment matters. The opinion marks the second precedential opinion Koller Law has obtained in a sexual harassment employment case. See Minarsky v. Susquehanna County, a 2018 case 3rd Circuit case. [see PDF court opinion]
The case went to jury trial on Nitkin’s workplace retaliation claim, and she won – the jury returned a verdict in her favor. The jury also awarded her punitive damages, which are very rare in employment cases.
Despite the trial victory, her attorney, David Koller, was really dissatisfied with the trial court’s dismissal of Nitkin’s hostile work environment claim. The Judge dismissed that claim two weeks before the trial, and so the jury was never able to hear and see all of the evidence. That is why after the trial, even with the victory, Koller appealed the dismissal of Nitkin’s hostile work environment claim to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
On appeal, Koller argued that repeated sexually offensive comments by a supervising doctor over the course of years created a hostile work environment. Unfortunately, the Third Circuit held otherwise. Mr. Koller is considering his options for appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. Click here for the Nitkin opinion.
“David really fought hard for me…did not give up and chose to appeal for me.”
Despite losing the appeal, Koller remains steadfast in his approach to employment law cases, especially sexual harassment cases. He is optimistic about pushing the envelope and changing the law to better recognize the difficulties victims of sexual harassment face. Koller did this with the Minarsky case, and now the Nitkin case, and several others.
He is extremely proud of his work on behalf of Ms. Nitkin, who said this about her lawyer, “David really fought hard for me. I’m grateful that he handled my trial, we won, and yet he was still not satisfied, and did not give up and chose to appeal for me.”
Koller Law Firm – Philadelphia Employment Lawyers
At Koller Law our passion lies in representing people from all walks of life who have experienced sexual harassment, disability discrimination and race discrimination.
We have been handling employment cases throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, just like yours, for many years. Koller Law is not run like every other firm – we provide the compassionate, individual attention employees need and deserve.
