Arnold & Porter Obtains Jury Verdict for Oakland Raiders in Former Scouts' Age Discrimination Trial

San Francisco, February 6, 2015 -- Arnold & Porter LLP recently convinced a jury to vindicate the Oakland Raiders in a lawsuit brought by two former scouts who alleged they were terminated because of their age.

The three-year dispute began after long-term Raiders' owner Al Davis passed away in October 2011 and the NFL team hired a new General Manager who, early in 2012, replaced a number of coaches and members of the scouting department. Two head scouts, aged 68 and 59, filed suit against the Raiders for alleged age discrimination and breach of contract, seeking several millions of dollars in lost wages, plus punitive damages.

At trial, Arnold & Porter's David Reis presented compelling evidence on behalf of the Raiders that the plaintiffs' employment was terminated because the new General Manager wanted to bring in his own people to lead the scouting department and was not impressed with plaintiffs' leadership. Also demonstrated was that age was not a factor in any of the Raiders' employment decisions because the Raiders hired and retained scouts who were older than the plaintiffs.

Following a three-week trial and after only several hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously ruled in favor of the Raiders.

"We appreciate the jury quickly and unanimously rejecting these claims and confirming that the Raiders' employment decisions were lawful and not discriminatory in any way," the Raiders said in a prepared statement. "The Raiders are proud of our long history of equal opportunity employment without regard for race, gender, age, religion, or any other improper characteristic."

Besides Mr. Reis, the firm's legal team included Julia Levy and John Throckmorton.