SMS Attorneys Cyrus and Pellegrin Obtain Dismissal
Congratulations to Attorneys Lou Ann S. Cyrus and Dominick R. Pellegrin for obtaining dismissal of their clients for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and their qualified immunity from suit. Lou Ann and Dominick represented a state agency and its high-ranking state officials who were sued as individual supervisors. Plaintiff’s suit alleged allegations of workplace sexual harassment and numerous claims sounding in negligence. Lou Ann and Dominick successfully argued that the Plaintiff failed to state a claim because the purported sexual harassment claims, even if true, occurred outside the workplace and outside of any parties’ scope of employment. They further successfully argued that the Defendant state agency and individual Defendant supervisors possessed qualified immunity from the Plaintiff’s claims of negligent hiring, supervision, training, and retention. The Court agreed and dismissed all claims against Lou Ann and Dominick’s clients in their entirety.
About: Shuman McCuskey Slicer PLLC is a civil defense litigation law firm defending businesses, professionals, and insurers in high-stakes litigation. The firm has over 20 attorneys licensed to practice in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. SMS was founded in Charleston, WV, where it remains headquartered and has additional offices in Morgantown, WV, and Winchester, VA.
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