bearister said:
wifeisafurd said:
WalterSobchak said:
My take is that WSU probably started becoming more firm with Rolovich (and internally determining that firing was the likely outcome) whenever it was that his position became public. IIRC this was at the PAc 12 football media conference, which IIRC was in June. My speculation is that they have a morals clause in his contract, and as the media attention around his position became significant they became more and more convinced he could be fired for cause based on negative effect on WSU's reputation and goodwill. His lawyer will argue the time delay is proof of a vendetta. WSU's lawyers will argue it is evidence of them giving him every possible chance and accommodation to comply until their hand was forced by the directive's deadline and his denied waiver. In the end it will settle, and he'll get some portion of his contract balance. I doubt he'll get it all and would be shocked to see him get a windfall to vindicate the anti-vaxxer position.
My experience representing government entities is that if they if they have to fight for a principle, they will fight with every procedural objection and appeal they can, no matter the amount of cost and time. That is the last thing a plaintiff's attorney wants. Now if you accept a settlement and a non-disclose, and the government perceives some risk and bad press otherwise, the check book is open. Bearrister, feel free to weigh in. Long way of saying your last sentence is dead on.
I would not settle with an anti vaxxer. His religious exemption is a loser based on the Pope's position. If a jury ruled in his favor keep appealing. With 700,000 Americans in the marble orchard because of Covid, vax mandates will be upheld. You are free not to get vaxxed but you are not free to spew your variant aerosols on the sane. Go to Idaho, North and South Dakota, Florida, etc and swap your aerosols with your fellow morons….and if you childish buffoons that worship at the altar of tRump want Bannon's Civil War, we'll bring that ruckus to you as well. People of good will and conscience are tired of you maladjusted, bitter a@ssholes.
Bearister, you didn't exactly address how governmental entities address things now.
Sounds like you are substituting your views for that of your client, at your client's peril. Your client desires a stable football situation, a team and fan base that is not dived, and with good morale. Its athletic department finances depend on that. 25% of the team is not vaccinated if you believe ESPN. You face a socially conservative jury base with some degree of litigation risk. And your client wants to know how you can make this all go away?
You know what is 7 miles from Pullman? Idaho. Your State Senator for your jury pool is one Joe Schmick, an American farmer, businessman and GOP politician who introduced legislation to give away 130 miles of the John Wayne trail back to private landowners effectively closing a large part of the longest Rail-to-Trail in the country. Want to guess what is views on C-19 and masks are like? Or on the Governor's C-19 mandates? Or Pullman's Washington House Representative Mary Dye, who wait for it, is an American farmer, businesswoman and GOP politician and in office for a long time. Usually gets close to 70% of the voters. Thinks C-19 is a fraud. The Congressional Rep is Cathy Rodgers since 2004. She is a protege of Mike Pence. When an audience member asked in her last debate against a Democratic contender how old the candidates believed the earth to be: Rodgers said she believed the account in the Bible. SHE WAS THE VICE CHAIR OF TRUMP'S TRANSITION TEAM. So you plan to tell your client you want to tell your views to that jury base, or are you going to try and change venues to really piss off your clients' donors and fan base? Good luck on that. Someone earlier said stupid is as stupid does. You have a moderate college in a right wing area, with anyone from the college not being seated on a jury since their employer is a party. Well done.
Reading Rolo's attorney's short statement, that jury will hear how your client's hypocritical athletic director and top department members flaunted C-19 protocols, got sick and put many others, particularly donors, at risk. Every C-19 remark or joke that was made by Washington State admisnister will be put on the table, not to mention a detailed account of the Athletic Director's "dishonesty" about C-19 (take any short cuts on C-19 rules up on the Palouse?). I'm not sure what AD Chun's "animus towards Coach Rolovich's sincerely held religious beliefs" is all about, but I'm sure the jury will find out if you left this case go to trial. This is being setting up to be more about a retaliatory firing by religion hating liberal elites by this nice local lawyer, than a debate on C-19 vaccines.
There is a reason guys like Mike Price, Mike Leach and Rolo get head coaching jobs in Pullman. There is a reason the AD's grin and bear it when they make remarks or do things that would be uncouth in Berkley. So you get up there with your prime witness, Mr. Patrick Chun, the first Asian AD, new to his job and whose first major decision was to fire Coach Rolo, just when Rolo had his troops one game behind the Division leaders. Yup Patrick Chung, the Chair of the Pac's Social Justice & Anti-Racism Advisory Groups, gonna discuss why he dissed Coach Rolo's religious views to those white Christian farmers on the jury. You do consider the views of your audience when you practice? Get an air tight non-disclosure. Just make sure Rolo can't discuss his anti-vax views as part of the settlement. He likely just wants a pay day.
if it was me, I would have pulled an SC and fired the guy when the team sucked earlier in the year, and negotiated a buy out to make Rolo go away without all this drama now. You really can't be telling your students and faculty to get vaccinated, and not have a major campus leader (sorry but that is what the head football coach is these days) not pushing vaccinations. Now you got a crises on your hand and being self-righteous in Pullman seems like a loser to me. Even in you eventually win on appeal. This case probably goes to Gary Libby the senior district judge in Pullman (the other Judge just got elected). What happens if that nice elderly Republican Judge hits you with a restraining order preventing Rolo from being terminated?