06/19/2015 // JusticeNewsFlash // (press release)

San Francisco – A judge has determined that a woman who brought forth a discrimination lawsuit against a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley is liable for a percentage of the legal fees of the company she sued. According to an Associated Press report, the woman has been found liable for approximately $276,000 of the nearly $1 million the company was seeking.

Ellen Pao filed the lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers alleging that she had been discriminated against based on her gender. A jury determined in March that the company had not discriminated or retaliated against her. The case became a high-profile one as the issue of gender inequality at technology and venture capital firms where women are stated to significantly be underrepresented.

The company said Pao had previously been offered a $964,000 settlement prior to the trial, but did not respond to the offer.

Kleiner Perkins spokeswoman Christina Lee stated of the recent ruling, “This tentative ruling recognizes that our settlement offer was reasonable and made in good faith… It also recognizes the cost rules still apply when a plaintiff refuses a reasonable settlement offer and forces the parties to go through an expensive trial.”

The firm has stated that they would wave the legal costs if Pao did not appeal; however she has reportedly since filed an appeal notice.

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