Pao may appeal case
Files legal notice in landmark sex-bias case,
Ellen Pao, the former venture capitalist who sued Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers for alleged sexual discrimination, filed a notice of appeal in the landmark case.
On March 27, Pao lost her case on all counts charging discrimination and retaliation against Kleiner.
Monday, she filed a Notice of Appeal in San Francisco Superior Court, reserving her right to appeal.
Legally, the appeal cannot be on the decision of the jury but must be on either procedural or evidentiary grounds.
The notice does not give the reasons Pao feels the decision should be overturned. Her lawyers will outline those in an appellate brief that must be filed within several weeks.
Kleiner filed in April to recover $973,000 in court fees from Pao but offered to waive them if she agreed not to appeal.
Monday, Kleiner said the 12member jury found decisively in the firm’s favor on all claims and the issue should be laid to rest. “We remain committed to gender diversity in the workplace and believe that women in technology would be best served by focusing on this issue outside of continued litigation,” Kleiner’s Christina Lee said.
Pao’s spokeswoman, Heather Wilson, said Pao would not comment on the filing. Few employment discrimination cases are reversed on appeal in California’s 1st District Court of Appeal, where the case would be heard.