The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit late last month shot down a bid from Bio-Rad Laboratories(NYSE:BIO) to rehear a decision to affirm a loss to a former general counsel in a whistleblower retaliation suit, according to recently released court documents.
Bio-Rad and its CEO had appealed a jury verdict in favor of former GC Sanford Wadler in which he alleged that the company terminated his employment after he blew the whistle on allegations that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in China.
A jury later ruled in Wadlers favor, finding that Bio-Rad violated the Dodd-Frank Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, according to court documents.
In its decision, the appeals court vacated in part, affirmed in part and remanded the case, finding that the district court erred in specific jury instructions related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but rejected an argument from Bio-Rad that a jury could not return a verdict related to the claims in Wadler’s favor.
The court did reverse a decisions related to a Dodd-Frank claim, and vacated approximately $3 million in damages attributable to the claim, according to court documents.
The case was sent back to the appeals court in February.