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Bad Reference

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I am in the process of taking my ex employer (large nationwide company) to court for providing me with a disgusting reference which made the home office withdraw their offer of employment. This nearly cost me to lose my home and everything. How much do the courts make them compensate if I win. My barrister says shes 99.9% sure i will win.

It’s great that your attorney is so optimistic. She would be the best source of information on the possible amount of damages, if you win the suit. Normally when the attorney files a lawsuit, he or she specifies a certain dollar amount that they hope to recover as “damages.” They may also request additional monies as “putative damages” or punishment.  Usually the attorney also requests that if the employer loses, they be forced to pay your attorney’s fees.

 

This suit sounds unusual because the question suggests that the former employer was also the company where the employee hoped to get a job. In most cases, employers can legally share accurate information on an employee’s performance between different divisions within the same organization.

Normally a jury hears the lawsuit and renders a judgment, including the amount of damages. The damages can vary anywhere from nothing up to the full amount the attorney requested in the original lawsuit. There aren’t any strict guidelines on the amount awarded in lawsuits, which is what makes suing someone under the US legal system a crapshoot. While a few states have limits on putative damages in some types of suits, in a few cases, the jury has even awarded a plaintiff more than the amount in the original suit.

If a judge hears the case instead of a jury, he or she will set the amount of any damages.

Barrister is a British term. In the US, they are usually called lawyers or attorneys.