Verdrager v. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, P.C., 474 Mass. 382 (2016)

In Verdrager v. Mintz (2016), the plaintiff alleged that she was subjected to gender discrimination, harassment, and retaliation while working as an attorney at a Boston law firm, that culminated in her demotion in 2007 and her termination in 2008. She claimed that firm members made inappropriate comments, questioned her commitment to her work after her pregnancy, and assigned a disproportionate amount of non-billable work. After complaining internally and to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, she searched the firm’s electronic filing system for documents supporting her discrimination claim, some of which she shared with her lawyer. The firm later fired her, citing this conduct. The Superior Court dismissed all her claims on summary judgment. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed in part, holding that a jury could infer her demotion and termination were motivated by unlawful discrimination and retaliation, and that her evidence of pretext was sufficient to survive summary judgment. Importantly, the Court recognized for the first time that “self-help discovery” (accessing and copying workplace documents to support a discrimination case) may constitute protected activity under G.L. c. 151B if reasonable under the circumstances. The Court affirmed dismissal of her tortious interference claim but remanded her gender discrimination and retaliation claims for trial.