Alycia Lane's Lawsuit Against Former Employer Tossed

It looks like Alycia Lane’s lawsuit against her employer won’t stand. According to Philebrity, a Philadelphia judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by the former CBS Philadelphia news anchor after she was dismissed by the Philadelphia CBS affiliate.

Her lawsuit alleged defamation but went back the theory of wrongful dismissal and the idea that her employer could have done a better job protecting her from the alleged invasion of privacy she endured at the hands of a coworker.

In her lawsuit, Lane alleges that her former co-host hacked into her email account, leaking private information. Some of this information involved an arrest in New York. The man behind the hacking: Larry Mendte, who alleges that he was also Lane’s former lover.

Lane was dismissed by the CBS affiliate after details of her arrest emerged. She was arrested following an altercation with a New York City police officer, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

As for Mendte, he was subsequently fired and put under six months of house arrest, writes The UK Daily Mail, after he admitted to hacking into Lane’s account.

Lane accuses her former employer of being negligent. She also applied vicarious liability to her former employer, citing defamation, as revealing and salacious messages and photos were spread to other news outlets after being taken from her email by Mendte.

One legal avenue that she apparently failed to pursue was the sexual harassment angle, whereby she could have alleged that she was removed after her employer failed to protect her from unwanted sexual behavior.

But the question of “unwanted” is definitely debatable, as Mendte alleges that Lane threw herself on him, according to the UK Daily Mail.

Her lawsuit was thrown out on grounds that she wasn’t playing fair in court, namely, that she lied about evidence. Lane is now working in Los Angeles.

Related Resources:

• Philadelphia Employment Lawyers (FindLaw)
• Former Partner Sues Greenberg Traurig Over Gender Discrimination (FindLaw’s Philadelphia Employment Law Blog)
• Ellen Pao: The Woman Who Shook Up the Big Boys Club (FindLaw’s Philadelphia Employment Law Blog)