Tech

Kleiner Perkins seeks nearly $1M in legal fees from Ellen Pao

The Ellen Pao, Kleiner Perkins verdict; Gender not a factor
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The Ellen Pao, Kleiner Perkins verdict; Gender not a factor

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers filed legal paperwork Wednesday seeking $972,814 in legal costs from Ellen Pao, the former partner who recently lost a high-profile sex-discrimination case against the Silicon Valley firm, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In a lawsuit filed in 2012 Pao claimed that she was denied advancement at Kleiner Perkins — an early backer of Google and Amazon — after she ended a brief affair with a then-partner, and then was subsequently fired.

The trial concluded at the end of March when the jury cleared the venture capital firm on all claims.

Ellen Pao
Robert Galbraith | Reuters

The jury initially found that Pao's gender was not a "substantial" reason for the firm not to promote her or to terminate her employment. Following the additional deliberation, it ruled that Pao was not fired in retaliation for raising discrimination concerns or filing the lawsuit.

In the new filing, Kleiner Perkins said that it offered to settle the case with Pao before it went to trial for almost $1 million, but Pao's lawyers didn't respond.

Kleiner Perkins said it would waive its attempt to recover legal costs if Pao agrees not to pursue an appeal in her case against the firm. A Pao spokeswoman said her legal team is "considering the proposal."

Read the full story here.