Previous Story
Louis Vuitton sued for defamation
|
Posted on Aug 04 1999
A former employee yesterday filed a defamation suit against Louis Vuitton Saipan Inc. for allegedly accusing her of stealing.
The civil suit, which also contains charges of inflicting emotional distress, was filed by Leonora Angelo in the Superior Court.
Angelo, represented by lawyer John Chambers, also named the company’s manager, Catherine Ada, as respondent.
Angelo, who started working at the store as sales associate in August 1997, was fired late last year.
The termination letter signed by Louis Vuitton’s general manager, Patrice Fontes, cited dishonesty, creating animosity, and unacceptable work ethics and intolerable behavior as the reasons for her dismissal.
The documents filed in the court, however, did not cite specific instances that demonstrate the allegations.
Before she was given the termination letter, Angelo said she was advised a few times to resign, and that Ada had threatened to sue her for theft if she refused to do so.
Angelo did refuse to resign, prompting Ada to write a termination warning which she asked Angelo to sign.
Angelo likewise refused to sign it, saying “it would have been an admission of guilt or offense which she knew she did not commit.”
On Aug. 5 last year, the day before she was sent away by her supervisors, Ada called Angelo to report back to work.
Upon arriving at work, Angelo found that her co-workers put locks on their personal lockers because they were supposedly informed that she had stolen something.
The situation, Angelo said, gave her embarrassment and humiliation for which she is asking for damages in the amount to be determined at the trial. (MCM)
