DAMAGES; DAMAGES FOR LOSS TO REPUTATION MAY BE AWARDED
Damages for loss to reputation may be awarded under the "make whole" remedy of the whistleblower provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act . Hanna v. WCI Communities, Inc., No. 04-80595-CIV (S.D. Fla. Dec. 2, 2004).
DAMAGES; DAMAGES FOR LOSS TO REPUTATION MAY NOT BE AWARDED
In Murray v. TXU Corp., 2005-WL-1356444 (N.D.Tex. June 7, 2005), the district court held that the remedies portion of the SOX whistleblower provision at 18 U.S.C. § 1514A does not provide for reputational injury.
DAMAGE TO REPUTATION
In Mahony v. Keyspan Corp., No. 06CV00554 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 12, 2007) (case below 2004-SOX-24), the Defendant sought to have the Plaintiff's request for reputational damages striken on the ground that "special damages" under SOX do not include reputational damages, citing in support Murray v. TXU Corp., 03 CV 0888, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10945 *8 (N.D.Tex.2005). The court stated that it disagreed with the Murray court's interpretation. Rather, the court found that § 1514A(c)(2)(C) comprises an illustrative list of the types of special damages that may be recovered rather than an exhaustive list. The court indicated that it agreed with the reasoning of the court in Hanna v. WCI Communities, Inc., 348 F.Supp.2d 1332 (S.D.Fla.2004), where the court held that the SOX whistleblower provision includes damages for loss of reputation.
TIMELINESS OF REQUEST FOR SPECIAL DAMAGES; TOO LATE TO REQUEST AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE EVIDENTIARY HEARING
In Jayaraj v. Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 2003-SOX-32 (ALJ Feb. 11, 2005), the ALJ granted the Respondent's motion to strike the Complainant's post-hearing request for stock options where the hearing had lasted four days and provided an opportunity to present evidence on all issues, including relief, and there had been no discussion or agreement to delay evidence on relief to a post-trial hearing should the Complainant prevail on the underlying claim.
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