Just got this e-mail from Ralph Barbieri's attorney, Angela Alioto:
We have won the Summary Judgement and we are going to trial in San Francisco on September 9th...on the following causes of action: Discrimination based on Age, Discrimination based on Disability, Wrongful Termination, Failure to Prevent Discrimination, Breach of contract.....AND Fraud by Lew Dickey. We will pick a jury on Monday September 9th.
Barbieri was fired from KNBR--Cumulus in April of 2012. There are many people who thought it wouldn't make it this far. They still may be right. The prospect of a settlement is always pertinent and still likely, but this is not your normal case.
A. As one of Ralph's friends pointed out to me recently, "Two things: Ralph is a Scorpio and he's Italian."
B. Deep-pocketed Cumulus can let this play out, right? Maybe, maybe not. Almost every lawyer says Barbieri has no chance to win. They're probably right. On the other hand those same lawyers said it would never get to this point. It has.
C. If the case proceeds, does Cumulus want its dirty laundry aired in public? I doubt it. Does it dare risk further info exposed into the public domain about its secret business model. Would Cumulus itself want to go forward with a potentially sympathetic San Francisco jury judging the merits of a guy who has early-stages Parkinson's disease that was shown the door by a greedy corporate glob like Cumulus?
**Developing...
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If the Cumulus team can't keep that "little old lady" who loved the Gene Burns Holiday Cookie Exchange (and maybe think beind fired killed him?) off the jury, they could be in for a surprise. And, at least here in the North Bay, that's the demographic that is often seated on juries.
ReplyDelete"Two things: Ralph is a Capricorn and he's Italian." ...
ReplyDeleteWOW! What a parlay! That should make this a slam dunk! LOL!!!
what a dipshit
yeah, true enough
DeleteYeah, there's no way Cumulus wants any of their "business practices" delineated in a courtroom setting; Ralph could very well get a nice settlement cause Angela is pretty tough. But please, it's the 21st century; enough of this stuff of "ooh he's Italian, he'll show 'em" Ralph wraps himself so tight in that red white and green flag it's a wonder his bigger-than-Bochy head didn't explode years ago. As Mr. Barbieri's late colleague Pete Franklin used to say (paraphrasing) "...you're proud of your ethnic heritage? Congratulations! You had nothing to do with it!"
Delete"Two things: Ralph is a full of shit Capricorn and a senile Italian"
DeleteFixed it for you.
As everybody knows.. Ralph mailed it in years ago... Absolutely zero show prep .. In many industries , he would have been gone years ago, without even a whimper ..
ReplyDelete"In many industries , he would have been gone years ago, without even a whimper .."
DeleteWell said.
Ralph does not know how well off he had it at KNBR.
Ralph only got away with this behavior because he had his good friend Tony Salvatore at his side.
Off topic ,, but does anybody have any idea what Marty Lurie makes ??? for doing his marathon weekend shows ? Or does HE have to pay the station ?? Thanks Mike
ReplyDeleteRalph Barbieri is a pompous no-talent ass, but he's a human being. What the Dickheads did to him wasn't right. I hope he wins his case or at least drags the Dickwads through the mud and exposes them for their wrong doings. If they can get away with the charges from Barbieri, what does that say for other companies in other fields -- particularly tech -- that can get away with age discrimination?
ReplyDeleteOver the last decade, workers are losing their rights. It's not fair. It's time to even the playing field. Never mind the personalities involved. It's about being able to work for a living. Too many people are suffering. The unemployment figures don't account for those who've stopped working. It's like they don't matter anymore. The working world has changed thanks to greedy pigs like the Dickscratchers and the VC money hungry pigs who invest in businesses and care only about their ROI.
Actually, in this case what the Dickheads did was right. First of all, Ralph deserved to be fired. Second of all, the Dickheads would have paid him the balance of his contract if he hadn't been such a jackass.
DeleteLurie buys the air-time on KNBR and then sells his own sponsors. It's a win-win for KNBR and for Lurie because KNBR also get to sell spots on his show and don't have to pay him anything, and he doesn't have to be beholden to KNBR.
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily win/win for the listeners who are left listening to Lurie's interminable broadcasts.
DeleteHe seems pretty beholden to KNBR insofar as never mentioning the A's whom he covered for many years. It's only Giants, Giants, Giants ad nauseum. I'm assuming he is following the company line because there is never any A's coverage on KNBR.
Delete"Beholden to KNBR" - YEAH, that's the station that he's broadcasting on!
DeleteIt's all Giants, Giants, Giants, YEAH, he's doing the Giants pregame and post game shows.
I hope Cumulus goes to court and tries to win this case, because it will expose their unseemly business practices. That said, Ralph was very lucky to have lasted so many years after 'mailing it in' since about 2003. He did very little prep, showed up at the station consistently late and thought he could get away with it, and was a pain in the butt to work with! A plague on both their houses!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Cumulus defender but I'm curious about this comment and similar comments to the effect that a lawsuit "will expose [Cumulus's] unseemly business practices."
DeleteAside from the fact - pointed out elsewhere - that Barbieri's case will only deal with relevant evidence and IS NOT an invitation to investigate all the defendant's business practices, what is it you think that will be exposed?
If the person who posted this comment knows that they engage in "unseemly business practices," doesn't that mean the whole world knows that they do? We already know they're a cheap, nasty, big corporation. You think that's going to be exposed for the first time in the Ralph Barbieri trial? Realistically, I just don't think there's any specific nasty thing that could out in the trial that would embarrass them.
Yeah, they suck, but we already know that.
As a rule, litigants with strong legal cases don't waste their time sending out press releases or contacting the media.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Ralph's attorney is emailing the press about going to trial suggests their case is weak and they are looking for ways to pressure Cumulus into a face-saving settlement.
I am one of those lawyers who believes Ralph has no chance to win but September 9th is just around the corner and if the case is really on the calendar for jury selection on that date, we' ll see how this plays out.
This whole fantasy about forcing Cumulus to reveal their dirty laundry is just a pipe dream. The case will be limited to relevant evidence and won't be an open invitation to examine all the corporations private information and secrets.
Maybe Ralph will be able to get a couple of bucks from a confidential settlement that allows him to salvage some pride. Otherwise this could be just further embarrassment and humiliation for the once-popular broadcaster.
Hello? Its good to let the public know!
DeleteGood points at 10;39am.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same. Who in their right mind sends out "press releases" or contacts the media.
Sounds like a desperate lawyer looking for symphathic jury.
Thanks 10 : 29 !!! What would you guess, Marty pays per hour ??? for a 6 hour Saturday ? And, what would the ads cost for his show ? Do you think he breaks even ?? I'm just a curious guy ? Thanks again, Mike
ReplyDelete@11:46; you can easily get primary-source answers to most of your questions by simply contacting the radio station thru the front desk, expressing interest in buying ads on the show.
DeleteYou will get a response from a sharply dressed sales drone who will give you a glossy packet of options for advertising, toot-suite. Strike up a dialogue with that person during the "sales process" to get your information.
Never listened to him
ReplyDeleteI imagine that Marty would take home $2-3 hundred dollars a show. Something like that. I personally like Marty's shows, but he really drags them on for too long. Who needs to listen to 4 hours of post game Giants talk with intermitable phone calls from 'Dave in Daly City,' complaining about the lack of hitting. That gets old really quickly!
ReplyDeleteThanks 12 : 44 ! I totally agree with you... I kind of sorta of like his shows,, but they are way toooo long... Maybe he likes listening to himself ? Ego ?
ReplyDeleteIf the Giants lose 6 to 0 .. He will talk about how Brandon Belt hit a sharp ground ball up the middle.... " a thing of beauty " .. never ever ever say 1 truth of how poorly they played that day ..
Interesting reaction. I like how I can watch CSN Bay Area's post game show, do something else, and then an hour or two later, Marty's still on the radio as if I haven't missed any of his show.
DeleteWait, weren't we discussing Ralph?
Ms. Alioto mis-states what the full Summary Judgement said. Google SF Civil Court online case information, and type in Cumulus.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that 5 out of the 11 Causes of Action were thrown out by the Judge. I'm not a lawyer. You can read the Summary Judgement filing.
Unless Ralph has a better than 50% chance of winning and/or he has a better than 50% chance of settling I don't see the point in suing. Based on the legal consensus it appears he has far less than a 50% chance for either scenario. Is this a last ditch effort for one final 15 minutes in the spotlight? It will be interesting, if this goes to trial, what he alleges and what evidence he will present to substantiate any or all allegations..
ReplyDeleteHave you read the legal docs? Have you seen the evidence?
ReplyDeleteAnything can happen at trial, especially in uber liberal SF.
How often will " his " attorney pressure him to settle ( after a good hard bluff ) just to line her pockets , and not take the chance of receiving a " beat down " ..... while spending many days, hours, etc. and not receiving a dime ?? Thanks Mike
ReplyDeleteWhy was Ralph late all the time???
ReplyDeleteHe was a yard monitor at his son's school.
DeleteI can't remember the last time my employer allowed me to do same.
Ms. Alioto is a public interest lawyer. Its about public policy so of course her cases have press releases. Firing older people who have diseases but who do their job is happening everywhere..i wish Ralph luck....good for him!
ReplyDeleteThe only chance in hell for Barbieri is that Joe Alioto rises from the dead and represents him. Angela has been on her father's coattails for her entire career. BTW, why is the Alioto clan attracted to losers like Al Davis and Ralph?
ReplyDeleteJust reviewed the court docs. Looks like there were 11 motions for judgement that Barbieri's laywers filed. 5 of the 11 were denied by the Court. They were: Harrassment, good faith and fair dealing, breach of an implied in fact contract, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Court ruled there are 6 "Triable issues". They are: disability discrimination, breach of contract, age discrimination, failure to prevent discrimination, wrongful termination and fraud. The Court also ruled in favor of the defendants, Cumulus, that Ralph must take a 6 hour Mental Evaluation which is scheduled to take place on 9-6-13.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ralph is done with his mental evaluation, the results will read "sense of entitlement"
DeleteI've never been a Barbieri fan, but if there is one time where I would love to see an Alioto case underestimated (like the late Joe's Raiders-NFL in the early 1980s), it's Angela's right here. Somebody's gotta try and send a message to any reckless conglomorate like Cumul-ator that a sensible balance between the bottom line and staff communication makes more sense than blowing off any line of communication. Cumulus isn't the only big business that is reckless with either its staff, its surroundings, or both (cough, cough, Monsanto, cough, cough, Exxon, cough, cough)
ReplyDeleteRalph is arrogant a-hole, who stopped following sports along time ago, Ratto is a better replacement.
ReplyDeleteGo Ray! He is hilarious and well-rounded (no pun intended).
Deletedid the guy who said ralph is both a capricorn and itlaian, also mention that he's a tremendous jackass? if he didn't, then the person doesn't really know him.
ReplyDeleteno. chance. of. winning.
I hope he gets a HUGE settlement; he did not deserve to be treated that way after working at/for KNBR.
ReplyDeleteI don't dislike Ralph, but lets be serious here. Regardless of how you believe he was "treated", the guy made tons of money, but wasn't respectful enough of his audience or co-workers to show up on time for months on end. To say little of how he treated the people he did actually work with.
DeleteI'm no fan of Cumulus, but the case is what it is, regardless of our opinions. It's one of those "no winners" situation, but Ralph doesn't deserve to win based on the merits.
If this happened to say Tom Tolbert, everyone would be rooting for him.
Both sides have good and bad points. Weird things happen with a jury, esp a CA jury.
ReplyDeleteCase in point. I read about a lawsuit in LA where an employee didn't show up for 3 days for work, which is automatic grounds for firing. Case closed. Its in the handbook. Well, she sued, it went to trial, and the jury awarded the employee MILLIONS of dollars... WTF!!??
Who will be on the jury? Will lawyers come off well, or egotistical?
How much 'evidence' will be excluded?
Can Ralph focus for 2 weeks?
Has Ralph sandbagged any information from Angela?
Is there an insurance policy which covers this lawsuit?
I am NOT a lawyer... but am friends with a few.
September 9th? Cool that's the day I have to show up for jury duty.
ReplyDeletezeros...Ralph and Rich Lieberman
ReplyDelete