$1.5M Federal Court Jury Verdict - Whistleblower Jury Verdict by Jan Aune
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On February 28, 2019 a federal jury of eight (8) jurors returned a unanimous verdict of 8 to 0 and awarded damages in the amount of $1,550,561 for the whistleblower Plaintiff. Plaintiff is represented by The Law Office of Jan T. Aune. Trial attorney was Jan Aune. The jurors deliberated for approximately fourteen (14) hours, over a three-day period, before reaching a verdict. Since this jury trial took place in U.S. District Court the jury had to return a unanimous verdict for the Plaintiff to prevail, which it did. Trial Attorney Jan Aune, and The Law Office of Jan T. Aune thanks the eight (8) jurors who were selected to make-up the jury, the two alternate jurors, and all of the prospective jurors who participated in the jury selection process as part of their federal jury duty. Plaintiff called ten (10) witnesses in his Case-in-Chief including Non-Retained Expert witness Leslie Daugherty who testified regarding Plaintiff's emotional distress damages. Defendant ManTech called 3 witnesses in its Case-in-Chief or a total of 13 witnesses over the course of the trial. Witnesses included employees of Defendant ManTech, and Plaintiff subpoenaed witnesses to appear and testify from non-party California Institute of Technology - Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During the course of the Jury Trial approximately 149 Exhibits were entered into evidence. The Jury Trial lasted 7 days including Jury Deliberations. Plaintiff's whistleblower claims were (1) retaliation in violation of the False Claims Act ("FCA"), 31 U.S.C. Section 3730(h), (2) retaliation in violation of the Defense Contractor Whistleblower Protection Act ("DCWPA"), 10 U.S.C. Section 2409, and (3) retaliation in violation of California Labor Code Section 1102.5. Plaintiff's whistleblower claims are based upon federal law and California state law Case: Lillie v. Mantech Int'l Corp. Federal Case No.: 2:17-CV-2538-CAS-SS Judge: The Hon. Christina A. Snyder Court: United States District Court, Central District of California First Street Federal Courthouse - Los Angeles, California. Plaintiff is represented by The Law Office of Jan T. Aune. Plaintiff's whistleblower claims were (1) retaliation in violation of the False Claims Act ("FCA"), 31 U.S.C. Section 3730(h), (2) retaliation in violation of the Defense Contractor Whistleblower Protection Act ("DCWPA"), 10 U.S.C. Section 2409, and (3) retaliation in violation of California Labor Code Section 1102.5. Plaintiff's whistleblower claims were based upon federal law and California state law. Plaintiff's whistleblower claims are based upon Plaintiff reporting that he had received unauthorized access to "classified/proprietary" information of Lockheed Martin during his work on a project involving California Institute of Technology's ("CalTech") Jet Propulsion Laboratory ("JPL"), a federally funded research and development center under the National Aerodynamics and Space Administration ("NASA"), and Plaintiff's then employer ManTech. The Whistleblower Plaintiff is currently appealing the District Court granting Defendant ManTech's Post-Trial Motion of Judgment as a Matter of Law (JMOL), or in the Alternative Motion for New Trial, which was filed in response to the federal jury awarding the Plaintiff the $1,505,563 jury verdict on all three of his California state and federal whistleblower claims in United States District Court. The case is being appealed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Case Number in 19-55891. The case is being heard at The Richard H. Chambers Courthouse, 125 South Grand Avenue, Pasadena, California 91105.
