Less than a month before an expected trial, a “sweeping sex discrimination lawsuit” against Nike has “tentatively settled, likely ending a fierce and yearslong legal fight about the company’s treatment of women,” according to Matthew Kish of the Portland OREGONIAN. The settlement includes agreements with the four remaining plaintiffs “as well as an unspecified class of plaintiffs,” seemingly “a win for plaintiffs’ lawyers who have continued to fight for making the lawsuit a class action.” Paul Hastings lawyer-- who represents Nike-- Felicia Davis said: “We still need to reduce that agreement to a final written agreement.” Davis said that the agreement “can probably be finalized in a couple of weeks.” Lawyer James Kan-- whom represents the plaintiffs-- said that the agreement also “includes a proposed class settlement.” He did not provide the court specifics about the size of the class. Kan noted that it will “take significantly more time to finish the class settlement.” The proposed class “will need to be notified.” Then there will be a hearing, and “it will need the court’s approval” (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/12).
LET THE PEOPLE KNOW: Kish in a separate piece noted lawyers for Nike and The Oregonian/Oregon Live “argued for nearly an hour” yesterday in a S.F. federal courtroom about the news organization’s ongoing efforts to make more information public in a “high-profile sex discrimination lawsuit against the company.” A panel of three judges at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard Nike’s arguments to overturn two previous rulings in favor of The Oregonian/OregonLive and its media partners. At the appellate hearing, Nike “challenged a district court ruling” in favor of The Oregonian/OregonLive, Business Insider and the Portland Business Journal. The news organizations had “successfully argued that more information about the case should be made public.” That resulted in the court unsealing about 5,000 pages of documents, including records that “allege inappropriate sexual conduct, workplace bullying and a lack of faith in Nike’s willingness to address the problems.” The news organizations subsequently asked the court to unseal additional information, “including the names of Nike employees who are alleged to have behaved inappropriately.” Two federal judges ruled in favor of unsealing the additional information. Nike “appealed the rulings.” Yesterday’s hearing also “took up separate arguments” on Nike’s challenge to a district court ruling that said that The Oregonian/OregonLive “can report on records it independently obtained through its newsgathering” (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/12).
