BARBIERI SETTLEMENT BULLET POINTS1. The prospect, however unlikely the plaintiff, Ralph Barbieri, had any case, of a sympathetic liberal SF jury hearing how a big greedy corporate company from Atlanta fired a man in the early stages of Parkinson's disease was reason enough for Cumulus to settle.
2. Forget how you feel about Barbieri--good or bad--the mere legal facts of the case, however nebulous, were enough to cause the powers that be to get this behind them.
3. In spite of the "blown-away" amount of settlement money offered by Cumulus, Angela Alioto, the attorney for Barbieri, wanted to go to trial, according to my source. It was Ralph Barbieri who was happy about the offer and told Alioto the figure was good for him. (No shit, Sherlock.) The $4M settlement is more than enough to live comfortably for the rest of one's life.
4. Barbieri has a special needs son; the settlement money will go a long way to helping his son navigate through life. It was that major element that gave emphasis to this complaint.
5. A biggie: This settlement is also about pragmatism. Barbieri isn't the only older Cumulus employee in SF that has a debilitating disease. This settlement might have staved off another possible future legal showdown.
6. Alioto comes from a family with deep Italian legal roots in SF and likes a good fight. Don't think the Dickey bunch did a lot of "Joe Alioto" googling. And Angela ain't so bad herself.
7. Yes, it was a settlement and not a victory. But even the most ardent optimists in this town gave Barbieri no shot at this case even smelling a courtroom. The settlement award was astounding. Wonder what those who said he had no chance are thinking today.
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Lieberman's report of the terms of the settlement is nothing more than an unconfirmed rumor.
ReplyDeleteSimply printing a portion of the first page of the complaint confirms nothing.Perhaps Lieberman is attempting to suggest there is more substance to his report.
Rich, if you've got a copy of the settlement, publish it. That would be credible.
http://webaccess.sftc.org/minds_asp_pdf/Viewer/DownLoadDocument.asp?PGCNT=0
DeleteHow long has Lieberman been working as publicist for the Alioto law firm?
ReplyDeleteI just root for the underdog.
DeleteHere is a question for all you smart guys and gals ???
ReplyDelete$ 4 Million
minus attorney's cut
minus Capital Gains Tax
Invests the proceeds in very safe Cert of Deposits
= what would his monthly income be ?????
Thanks Mike
Proceeds from wrongful termination lawsuits are taxed as regular income for both federal and state, plus the attorney will take a cut.
DeleteAssuming that after taxes and attorney fees, he'll have $1.8 Million left, he can invest that in a mutual fund hoping for at least a 10% return. He will have to pay capital gains taxes on the yearly returns.
So if he wanted the $1.8 Million to last 20 years, he could withdraw about $214,000 a year, minus taxes. At the end of the 20 years, the fund will be empty.
That's just a rough estimate.
Or , if he wanted to leave his son the full amount, and he invested in very safe CDs
Delete1.8 mil x 2 % ( cd ) = $ 36,000 per year ,, or
$ 3,000 monthly
Put the money in Tax free Munis, revenue based (i.e. Oakland Port Authority; EBMUD etc.) The yields are golden right now. You can probably get a 4% tax free return. On 1.8 million that's $72k tax free annually..
DeleteWhere are these 2% CD's you speak of? And hoping for AT LEAST 10% average in a mutual fund? You're the optimistic type, aren't you?
DeleteYou can probably get 2-3% in an annuity right now though.
my goof !!! Ralph won't be paying Capital Gains , his income will be taxed at Ordinary Income .. Yes ???
ReplyDeleteCorrect. Fully taxable as if he received wages.
DeleteNow I understand why they offered a settlement. Cumulus was correct. A town that would fully support the Governor approving of The Bathroom Bill, allowing for Transgender whims to trump everbody else's personal right of privacy, probably would have awarded a double digit million dollar award, then celebrate with a caviar reception on the veranda.
ReplyDeleteWin Ralph win. I am happy for you.
ReplyDeleteGood for Ralph. Although I wasn't a regular listener, I always liked him because he was a "regular" guy and knew the history of the local sports teams. The fact that he is a fan was also nice. I wouldn't mind hearing him again, if he ever finds a foothold, or if he were to write a column.
ReplyDeleteAn informative post, too, Rich. Nice scoop. For a guy who takes so much abuse, you sure seem to post serial scoops that other media don't get. I recently saw a hat-tip to you in The Chron. Nice work.
For the Ralph haters out there, can you find nothing positive to say about him? Why not focus on that? Wait, on second thought, don't answer that. I know why. It's more a reflection on you, than on Ralph.
$4M isn't enough. Those Dickfondlers should've been taken for more.
ReplyDeleteNever mind Barbieri's talent (or lack thereof). He's a working stiff like the rest of us. The worker in America is getting treated like s+*& these days. Benefit cuts. Layoffs. Age discrimination. It's not right.
We don't have any watchdogs in the media checking this out anymore. The media is just a publicity arm for companies. The spin doctors have the media spun on their little pinkies.
Shame.
Way to go Ralphie-boy! Make them Dick-wads pay big time! And celebrate by having some Amici's Pizza! Mmmmm' goooooo!
ReplyDeleteLOL your #6 "salient point".
ReplyDeleteLet's be clear about this "exclusive", someone at Alioto's law firm fed Lieberman a story about the outcome of this case. Lieberman is only too happy to run with it.
ReplyDeleteIn the absence of any confirmation, from anyone other than a very interested party, this is no more than a rumor.
One obvious indication that the story is false is the nonsensical claim that Angela wanted to turn down the $4M and take the case to trial. Any lawyer handling a case this shaky would accept a $4M offer an run.
There's no telling what the settlement amount was but it sure in hell wasn't $4M. Notice how Alioto fed the story to Lieberman almost instantaneously. No one else is reporting this as factual news. What does that tell us?
You're simply a sore loser with axe to grind. This is NO rumor. The docs have been posted on-line, (today) at the Superior Court web site.
DeleteAnd furthermore, schmuck, every now and then people REPORT, they CALL, they ask questions and they get information.
The settlement amount is confidential --but the source that gave it to me is 100% secure and accurate. I'm comfortable with the story.
As for "no one else is reporting this as factual news?" Yeah, here's THIS: http://mediaconfidential.blogspot.com/2013/09/report-cumulus-settles-suit-with-ralph.html and check out Radio ONLINE --plus no one reported the KTVU Asiana pilot name gaffe either, until MY story surfaced.
Have a lovely day, schmuck.
4:50: You must also believe the earth is flat.
DeleteGreat scoop, Rich.
Mr. Lieberman, What evidence do you have that Cumulus has agreed to pay Barbieri $4,000,000 to settle this case?
ReplyDeleteDo you have anything more credible than saying that some people you believe told you so? That's called hearsay and normally is considered credible.
I never knew Tate was a special needs child. Didn't he use some kind of clinic to become a father?
ReplyDeleteYou tell 'em Richie baby! Asswipes such A 4:50PM anon don't know their tushie from you know what! All we know is that Lieberman comes through with another media-excloooo! And it all's good in the hood for the old 'Ralph-a-roooooo!' Way to go you too! You go boy!!!
ReplyDeleteBarbieri may be a dick, but the Dickeys are defined by their name. They are systematically ruining the radio business for their own gain. They should be run out of SF and every other town in which they operate.
ReplyDeleteAnd now they are moving into the Fresno market! KMJ AM and The FM KMJ and other stations there too! Sad times in the Fresno radio market!
DeleteThat's alotta SweetJack (woof, woof) commercials.
ReplyDeleteat 4:50 PM, if the case was "shaky" Cumulus would not have paid. Fact: 2/3 of cases that go to trial end with a defense verdict. Shaky plaintiff cases don't get settled for $4 million. There was something in discovery that made this case worth somewhere between $4M that Cumulus paid and probably $10M+ that Alioto believed she could win. Cumulus paid because the downside was too great - hit for $10M+ in trial. Ralph probably settled because there was no guarantee he would win (defense wins 66% of the time) and if he lost there were no big paydays coming at his age. He took the safe route. Can't blame him. Sounds like brilliant attorney work if she brought Cumulus to their knees to pay $4M. The kicker though will be the confidentiality agreement. Did Cumulus insist on it and did Alioto and Ralph agree to it? If not, I'm sure once the money is in the bank the two will talk.
ReplyDeleteconfidentiality agreement.
DeleteRalph Barbieri gladly agreed to those terms.
The last thing he wanted was to have his poor work habits be made public.
That is what you call a settlement.
Go to trial?
ReplyDeleteLee Hammer says "No"
Lee Hammer is a pathetic excuse for someone in radio management. But he fits the bill for the Dick-heads. Hammer is nothing more than a Cumulus tool who will do whatever dirty work they tell him to do.
ReplyDelete