Connecticut plaintiffs lawyer Robert I. Reardon, the so-called “Titan of Torts,” has suffered a setback in a lawsuit brought against him by former Reardon Law Firm associate Angelo A. Ziotas.
Before leaving the firm, Ziotas asked Reardon whether he would get a pro-rata bonus for the year, and was told he would. Under the non-negotiable contract Ziotas signed in 1992, bonuses were based on a list of factors: seniority, business generation, productivity, professional ability, work profitability, pro bono work, outside activities and loyalty to the firm.
Reardon never paid the bonus.
Appellate Court Judge Alexandra DiPentima, writing for a unanimous panel, sent the matter back to the trial court to determine whether Reardon’s contract breach was arbitrary, unreasonable or done in bad faith. Such a finding could double the former associate’s $50,000 bonus, and add attorney fees on top of mounting offer-of-judgment interest.
The case has wider implications for businesses, in that it establishes that an employee can be contractually entitled to a bonus even if the precise method for calculating it isn’t spelled out in the employment contract and the employer is against paying it.
Ziotas is now a partner in Stamford’s prominent Silver, Golub & Teitell.
