Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi: The End

The parties have written the final chapter is this long-running saga.

When Alexandra Marchuk filed her salacious sexual-harassment lawsuit against her former firm, Faruqi & Faruqi LLP, and one of its top partners, Juan Monteverde, we compared her complaint to Tess of the d’Urbervilles (affiliate link). Like the classic novel, her lawsuit told the tale of a destitute and desperate young woman preyed upon by a rich and powerful man.

Unfortunately for Marchuk, the jury didn’t completely buy her story. She received a $140,000 judgment — a fraction of the millions she sought, and less than the $425,001 offer of judgment extended to her before trial. The court also awarded $223,000 in legal fees and costs, but that was just 15 percent of what Marchuk requested (and it’s not clear how much went to her and how much to her counsel).

What about the appeals process? Could the Second Circuit give Marchuk a happy ending? Alas, no — the parties have written the final chapter, and it doesn’t include reversal of any pro-defense rulings by Judge Alvin Hellerstein (S.D.N.Y.). Per Law360:

On Tuesday, the Second Circuit signed off on the parties’ Monday joint stipulation to resolve the closely watched, often colorful row after Marchuk appealed the verdict in May and Faruqi followed with its own appeal in June.

Scott Bursor, an attorney for Faruqi and its co-defendants, confirmed the resolution on Tuesday, saying in an email to Law360 that the case is over. Harry Lipman, Marchuk’s attorney, affirmed that in his own Tuesday email.

“The case has been amicably resolved,” Lipman said.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

So we’ll probably never find out who paid whom, or how much, to bring this case to a close. Here is what the parties were raising on appeal:

Marchuk filed an appeal notice on May 20, challenging numerous trial court rulings. Her notice targeted the lower court’s Jan. 28 decision that threw out her retaliation and defamation claims and nixed all her claims against sibling co-founders Nadeem and Lubna Faruqi. Marchuk was also appealing a Feb. 9 judgment that awarded her $140,000 in damages and a May 4 judgment awarding her counsel just under $223,000 in legal fees and costs, in addition to other decisions and orders.

A couple weeks after Marchuk’s appeal, Faruqi and the other defendants filed a cross-appeal.

The firm, its sibling founders and partner Juan Monteverde appealed the judgment and a handful of other decisions the securities boutique says should have gone its way, according to its notice at the time. Among those decisions were the allowance of some testimony and the court’s Feb. 3 jury instruction on hostile work environment liability under New York City law, according to the filing.

It seems that Marchuk had more to gain from appellate proceedings than the Faruqis and Monteverde, given how well the trial turned out for the defense, so perhaps the defendants paid her rather than the other way around. But it probably wasn’t much, given how strongly the Faruqis felt about the wrongness of Marchuk’s lawsuit. It’s quite possible that nobody paid anyone anything and both sides just agreed to drop all appeals. Lexie Marchuk is probably stuck in Omaha rather than bound for Hawaii.

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If you have any inside information to share about the resolution of this case, feel free to email us or text us (646-820-8477). Otherwise, it’s quite possible that you’re reading the final words we’ll ever write about this remarkable and sensational case.

Faruqi, Ex-Lawyer Settle 2nd Circ. Sex Harassment Row [Law360 (sub. req.)]
$140,000 Jury Verdict in Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi Sexual Harassment Case [Popsis Law]

Earlier: Lawsuit of the Day: A Super-Salacious Suit Against A ‘Legend’ of the Bar
Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi: A Juror Speaks
Alexandra Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi: What Did She Win In Attorneys’ Fees?

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