Wrongful Termination Suit Unlikely to Heighten Scrutiny

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Senior executives at Fleishman-Hillard are unlikely to face any increased scrutiny by criminal investigators as a result of an employment lawsuit filed last week against the firm by the former general manager of its Los Angeles office, according to people familiar with the case.


Douglas Dowie, who alleges that the firm wrongfully fired him on Jan. 5, claims that senior Fleishman executives praised and assured him even after federal and county investigators began looking at its contracts with the city.


Dowie has been at the center of allegations that the public relations firm over-billed the city on a $3 million annual contract with the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.


But his suit is unlikely to impact the work of federal and county investigators, who have been looking into whether companies donated political contributions to receive city contracts.


“The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not contacted me, and I’d be surprised if they have much interest in Mr. Dowie’s lawsuit,” said Michael Faber, the Santa Monica employment lawyer who represents Dowie in the suit. “I don’t know if they were aware of all the factual allegations that are in the lawsuit. But I would expect that they were, to the extent that those matters are of interest to them.”


Sheldon Eisenberg, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP who represents Fleishman in the suit, said the litigation does not allege that senior executives praised Dowie’s work after potential fraud surfaced in July.


He denied that any of the comments in the lawsuit were made. “But even if they were, they wouldn’t create any concern or issue for the executive who spoke those words,” he said.


Much of the criminal investigation has centered on Fleishman’s local office. Three months ago, federal prosecutors indicted a former vice president on charges he helped submit at least $250,000 in fraudulent bills to the city.


In his complaint, Dowie reveals conversations he allegedly had with senior Fleishman executives he worked with during the time he managed that contract.


“I can’t imagine that the company is happy about it,” said James Gallagher, a white-collar criminal defense partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP. “It may cause (the government) to look into (new) areas.”

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