| Ralph Barbieri |
EXCLUSIVE TO RICH LIEBERMAN 415 MEDIA--
BARBIERI SETTLES CUMULUS WRONGFUL TERMINATION SUIT FOR $4M!
A source close to Angelia Alioto, the lawyer representing former KNBR Sports host, Ralph Barbieri, told me directly the suit was effectively settled Wednesday afternoon in SF Superior Court.
Barbieri, according to the source, will receive $4 Million, pending normal signing of legal documents and papers pertinent to the case.
The source told me that "Barbieri and his son 'Tate will live comfortably the rest of their life."
Barbieri was fired from KNBRCumulus in April, 2012 after nearly three decades on the air with the all-sports SF Radio outlet. In 2011, months before his firing, he disclosed he was battling early-stages Parkinson's disease.
The source also indicated that Alioto was prepared to continue to pursue the case but was "blown away" by the offer from Cumulus. Ultimately, it was Barbieri who told Alioto that the amount offered was good enough for him to settle.
*Rich Lieberman 415 Media Exclusive
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The rich getting richer.
ReplyDeleteNothing against Ralph. I enjoyed listening to him for years. I have doubts on the way it played out tho.
Pretty good haul.
ReplyDeleteWow,, I had to check my Calender,,, I thought for sure it was an April Fools Joke..
ReplyDeleteKudos to Rich for not mentioning Ralph's astrological sign (Scorpio) nor his heritage (Italian). Without having a horse in this race I knew he'd prevail after the initial lawyering song and dance. He stuck it to the Dickies, good for him. Where are all the haters now who attacked Ralph when he filed suit?
ReplyDeleteWe are over here. Just that we have been busy lately, trying to make sense of that incoherent foreign policy of Barrack Obama.
DeleteCan someone explain why every single discussion on the www is threadjacked by some emasculated right-wing punter?
DeleteWhy shouldn't they be able to fire someone who can no longer do the job, plus was very expensive. Vanity rules the day for now. This will probably be appealed a number of times before a dime is dropped.
ReplyDeleteLearn to read you hater. Cumulus has agreed to settle for that amount. They calculated that if it went to trial it would cost them more. Only thing left are formalities of signing documents and giving Ralph his check.
Delete6:14, I know nothing about the specifics of this suit. However your assertion that a settlement can be appealed is really funny.. A settlement means the parties have agreed....not disagreed.
DeleteChristine I googled your name because I wanted to see if I could find any current pictures of you. I found some sfgate blog posting about feathered hair in the late 1970's. I understand times change, looks change, we all change, but you are an attractive girl.
DeleteNot sure how to end a comment like this but I'll just say keep up the good work! lol
or you could try facebook. I post new stuff all the time, including some pix from last week, in the studio at KGO radio, filling for Karel and talking about a murder case I'm involved in.Send me your facebook address and I'll send you a current picture. I'm cute as hell!
DeleteOh please, I just vomited in my mouth!
DeletePoster 8:43
DeleteAren't you the one who was told how to dress for TV news?
9:30
DeleteAll on-air television personalities are told (or given guidelines on) how to dress.
" I'm cute as hell!"
DeleteAll due respect, there isn't enough booze on the planet to make a man drunk enough to agree with you...even 40 or 50 years ago.
2:30 am..actually in our federal sex discrimination case, one of the issues precisely was that the women were told what to wear,but not the male anchors. This was very helpful in winning not just one, but two jury verdicts in different venues. Do they tell the male anchors and reporters what to wear these days?
Deleteas for 9pm and 9:13 am...It's true that cuteness is subjective, but why would any smart,cute woman be attracted to a drunk man with mouth vomit who wears a manbra?
Give her a break. Is it really worth mocking to make yourselves feel better? I understand some of us have our differences with Christine but come on she was obviously just kidding around. At least she has a sense of humor.
DeleteI miss Ralph
DeleteAnd at least she posts her name unlike the trolls "Anonymous"
DeleteDoesn't Joe's daughter get 1/3 share?.. Sounds like Ralphie won't see $4MM, more like $2.67MM if these number are correct.
ReplyDeleteTranslation = Ralph had no case.
ReplyDeleteCumulus told him to scram. $4 million is chump change to them.
Ralph walks out of court like a dog with his tail between his legs.
"Blown away" these quotes have all the earmarks of someone who was ready to concede defeat.
Don't kid us Alioto. You are not fooling anyone.
Cases settled at 40 cents on the dollar are hardly the result of the plaintiff having "no case", especially with the PR damage that Alioto could have done ripping Cumulus before, during, and after every day in court.
DeleteSounds to me like you are jealous of Ralph's settlement.
DeleteIf he had no case, they would not have settled. He may or may not have had a slam dunk case, I don't know. I haven't seen the documents. However, I think it's safe to say that they were concerned about it enough to not risk it. The lawyer friends I have tell me most cases like this settle out-of-court.
Delete$4 million dollars would indeed be a fabulous haul for Barbieri in this case.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER,there is no reason to believe the unconfirmed claim of an unnamed source who may have every reason to lie about the outcome.
First of all, Barbier's side has every reason to lie, to save face in this matter, if he actually received a far smaller amount just to get the thing over with. Secondly, if Cumulus did in fact agree to settle so generously, they would typically require that the amount of the settlement be kept confidential, which is not the case if some Alioto leaker revealed details of the settlement to Lieberman.
Let's just wait for confirmation from someone with more credibility than an anonymous source.
You're delusional and a sore loser with an axe to grind.
DeleteI usually don't agree with Lieberman here but the post above is plainly stupid--of course the settlement here means that in reality that Ralph got exactly what he wanted and sued for in the first place: $$$. If the settlement wasn't good enough, why would Ralph settle? Lee Hammer and those chickens at Cumulus and KNBR probably figure that they have everything to lose, and end up paying for $4 million, if trial can prove that Lee Hammer is an age discriminating scumbag (I am not saying he is!) then Lee Hammer and many of the employees would probably be fired.
DeleteSays the Anonymous person
DeleteGlad to see that Ralph stuck it to the Dick-heads. He was having problems on the air, but the clumsy way they handled his dismissal typifies how truly clueless Cumulus has been. They could have simply sent him on his way by paying him off for his last year, thus avoiding the embarrassment of the negative publicity.
ReplyDeleteKnowing Angela, she would have howled to the heavens and brought a lot of unwanted local media spotlight onto this company, further exposing their shoddy business practices. Wisely, the bean counters and lawyers in the headquartera in Atlanta opted not to tempt fate.
Ralph ends up walking away in much better shape than he would have been had he stuck around for another few years at KNBR.
I hope his healthy stabilizes and that he and Tate enjoy many more years together.
I hope Ralphie does get $4M but I'd like to see some independent confirmation.
ReplyDeleteTwo things are true:
1) Alioto and Barbieri both benefit by spreading misinformation about the success of their lawsuit.
2) Rich Lieberman is a very eager to disseminate "exclusive" reports that draw attention to his blog.
http://mediaconfidential.blogspot.com/2013/09/report-cumulus-settles-suit-with-ralph.html
DeleteSomeone else is merely repeating that Lieberman claims what the amount of the settlement is. They are not saying that it's accurate.
DeleteSomeone from Angelina Alioto's office fed Lieberman a story about the terms of the settlement. Lieberman published the story but has no way on knowing if it's accurate. None the less, he's presenting it as actual news.
You're just a disgruntled runt who is jealous. Nobody from Alioto's office fed me anything. I just made a few calls and actually did what no one else does today: REPORT.
DeleteAnd the figure is accurate, hate to mess your day up.
Anyone using the generic "anonymous" that tosses slop at Rich for investigating this story, then publishing his findings, is a internet-wimp. The way I see it is this, if you ain't got a name, what entitles you to an opinion?
DeleteBarbieri is blowhard, no talent, no nothing. But what the Dickheads did to him was wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe Dickheads are like a lot of tech people. Get them cheap. Get them young. Screw experience.
$4M may be chump change to Dick and Dick, but no one wants to lose money. They'll probably ask the MS-Excel finance geeks to see who they can cut to make up for the shortfall.
So Ralph settled his case. Good for him.
ReplyDeleteBut nothing beats the humiliation he endured when he was escorted out of the building in front of his co-workers.
That in and of itself was worth it.
By the way Ralph, what ever became of your Amici's East Coast Pizzeria endorsements? Did they lose interest in you?
ReplyDeleteYou understand that the Amici's spots were sold by the station, right? They were paying to get their advertisements on the air. If Ralph isn't on the air, why would they have him do their spots?
DeleteGood for ralphie boy. the good news is that now tate will have money to change dad's diapers
ReplyDeleteRalph's endoresement is still on every Amici's delivery box, now attributed as "bay area hall of famer" (or something along those lines) as opposed to "KNBR."
ReplyDeleteOf course, since Amici's has continued their stance of refusing to advertise on KNBR since Barbieri's dismissal, you probably wouldn't be aware of that. Ass.
Good for Barbieri. The guy could be a pain in the ass, but he was always a supporter of the local teams, even during lean years. Unlike most radio personalities, he was a local guy, and many of us other locals (there are still some of us) grew up listening to him when the Giants were an afterthought to the Niners.
And hats off to anybody that can make Cumulus fork over 4 million bucks. Terrestrial radio has become completely irrelevancy thanks to clowns like the Dickeys.
"supporter of the local teams" = First Class Homer.
DeleteEnd of story.
Turds like Ralph and Angela do float once in awhile.
ReplyDeleteMr. "Anonymous" has been grounded by his parents, Koko and Geraldine, of the Lowland Gorilla family.
Delete$4 mil is $4mi. And since it's a settlement and not an award, there is a good chance that Cumulus is paying Alioto's fee.
ReplyDeleteAnd just for people thinking this is nothing. $4 mil accounts for 2 percent of Cumulus's total revenue last year. They made a 9 percent profit margin last quarter, figure most of that goes to paying down the debt
His son is 'special needs', the money will take care of him. I see Ralph having some expensive care too over the next 10 years, nurses and all.
ReplyDeleteJust having Ralph as a father automatically means he has "special needs."
Deletenice scoop, once again, Rich, on a local issue. My nickname is Scoop, but if you keep coming up with these, I'll have to start calling you Scoop.
ReplyDeleteGO RALPHIE GO!!!! GO RALPHIE GO!!! MAKE THEM DICKHEADS PAY!
ReplyDeleteWell I'll be god damned.. Guess you can't fuck an employee under contract for no reason. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't he just about at the end of his contract and if Cumulus decided not to renew, Ralph would've been out the door with no recourse? I guess the "my shit doesn't stink" mentality and lack of patience cost Cumulus $4 million US..
ReplyDeleteI love it when the Dickheads and Cumulus have to suck up the slime they created. They have done everything to ruin three 'legacy' radio stations: KGO, KNBR and KFOG, with their penny-pinching, unprofessional ways, and now they are reaping what they've sown. They have been a blight on the national radio scene ever since they moved into major markets and started to mess with solid stations by cutting back on staff, and bringing in green, underpaid, wide eyed youngsters who have no business working in major market radio. This is just another reason why deregulation of industries, (in this case the radio biz) has been a disaster for this country and should be reversed immediately!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Ralph. Enjoy your retirement, I'm enjoying mine.
ReplyDeleteOn a related matter, has there been a class action suit filed against Cumulus for what they did to KGO?
$4 mil, no way.. maybe $40k
ReplyDeleteI DONT CARE !
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Ralph
ReplyDeleteI am very happy for Ralph. He was inappropriately dismissed from KNBR after receiving affirmation of his good work with a new contract. As for Tate, he is not a "special needs" individual, just a great kid. I wish them both always the best!
ReplyDeleteI don't know what you folks out there are doing with your lives but your comments are REPREHENSABLE
ReplyDeleteI always thought Ralph to be well traveled and very informed.
you did not like him.
Just change the dam station and go hate on someone that deserves it,
not a 28 year veteran of the airways.
Hall of famer!
28 years in radio is an incredible feat.
Go and do better or Shut the Hell Up!
How interesting! What usually qualifies as wrongful dismissal? I would love to learn a little bit more about this. www.lostjobs.ca
ReplyDeleteListening to Ralph and Tom for years, it's interesting that a person who would put down the litigious ways of people, would stoop to it himself.
ReplyDeleteRalph was always late, he was warned, he was fired. Same thing would happen to most of us.