Fox Countersuit in Harassment Case Not Retaliation, Judge Rules
Fox’s Claim Against Ex-Executive Wasn’t Retaliation, Judge Says
(Bloomberg) -- Fox Broadcasting Co. didn’t illegally retaliate with a breach-of-contract claim against a former executive who sued after he was fired for alleged sexual harassment, a judge ruled.
New York Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla in Manhattan rejected Cliff Pozner’s retaliation claim in a Nov. 18 ruling. Pozner was an executive vice president at Fox who worked there for 22 years.
Fox is seeking legitimate redress from a court and the broadcaster’s allegation that Pozner breached his contract is not “objectively baseless,” the judge said.
Pozner’s attorney, Neal Brickman, declined to comment on the ruling but said his client’s remaining claims against Fox for breach of contract and religious discrimination would soon be resolved. He didn’t elaborate.
Fox’s lawyer didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
Pozner sued for millions of dollars in back pay in 2017, alleging that non-Jewish employees accused of “more heinous conduct” at Fox have fared better than their Jewish colleagues.
Pozner denies he harassed anyone. According to the lawsuit, his accusers took advantage of negative publicity at Fox after former anchor Gretchen Carlson sued then-Chief Executive Officer Roger Ailes.
Read More: Fox Broadcasting Is Accused of Anti-Semitism by Ex-Executive
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Larson in New York at elarson4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider
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