SAN FRANCISCO – July 19, 2022 – Greenberg Traurig, LLP Labor & Employment Practice Shareholders Philip I. Person and Charles O. Thompson led a team to victory in California’s appellate court for client Hornblower Group’s subsidiary Hornblower Yachts, LLC, a cruise and events company.
Person and Thompson originally won the case Hornblower Yachts, LLC, et al. v. Brown & Brown Insurance Services of California, et al. with a jury awarding Hornblower Yachts, LLC and Alcatraz Cruises, LLC more than $2.3 million after a three-and-a-half-week trial in 2020. Hornblower and Alcatraz Cruises sued the insurance brokers claiming professional negligence and negligent misrepresentation for their failure to provide employee health care plans and health reimbursement accounts in compliance with San Francisco’s city health care ordinances, an audit which resulted in an initial penalty of more than $14 million for Hornblower that was then reduced to $2.75 million after negotiations led by Charles S. Birenbaum and Person. The insurance broker appealed the case, and the appellate court affirmed judgement in its entirety June 29.
Person is a shareholder in the firm’s San Francisco Labor & Employment Practice and co-lead of the California Wage & Hour Taskforce. He focuses on representing employers in wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour, trade secret misappropriation, non-competition, non-solicitation, and whistleblower claims. He also represents employers in labor and employment arbitrations. Additionally, Person counsels and advises clients on various employment issues and coordinates with executives and management to develop plans to mitigate employer risk. He co-hosts The Performance Review, a California labor and employment podcast.
Thompson is a shareholder in the firm’s San Francisco Labor & Employment Practice and co-chair of the Wage & Hour Class and Collective Action Litigation Group. He focuses his practice on employment litigation and counseling representing clients through all phases of class actions and single plaintiff cases. He has deep experience litigating employment-related issues for public and private companies having handled over 1,000 employment matters for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to Silicon Valley startups. Thompson has tried employment, commercial, and professional liability cases to verdict and directed verdict, has litigated and appealed cases from California state courts to the United States Supreme Court, and is a fellow of the prestigious College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.
Hornblower Group includes Hornblower Cruises & Events, Alcatraz Cruises LLC, and the newly established NYC Ferry. This fast-growing company was recently selected by the National Park Service to continue as the concessionaire for Alcatraz Island.
About Greenberg Traurig’s Labor & Employment Practice: Greenberg Traurig’s Global Labor & Employment Practice serves clients from offices throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Members of the practice have had numerous trial wins and are frequently called upon to handle complex, bet-the-company, and large high-stake cases, including nationwide class and collective actions. On the labor side, a leading group of lawyers regularly represents management with labor-relations matters. Labor & Employment team members assist clients with complex employment issues, and design practical, proactive strategies that can be readily implemented by today’s human resources professionals. In addition, the practice is recognized by The Legal 500 United States in the areas of Labor and Employment Litigation, Labor-Management Relations, ERISA Litigation, Workplace & Employment Counseling, and Trade Secrets Litigation. Visit Greenberg Traurig’s Labor & Employment Blog for insights and analysis of the latest labor and employment developments, including legislation, regulations, cases, policies, and trends.
About Greenberg Traurig’s California Offices: Greenberg Traurig has more than 175 corporate, entertainment, government law and policy, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, and taxation attorneys in California, located in Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2400 attorneys in 43 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm, often recognized for its focus on philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono, reported gross revenue of over $2 Billion for FY 2021. The firm is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law 100, Am Law Global 100, NLJ 250, and Law360 (US) 400. On the debut 2022 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard, it is a Top 15 firm. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 4.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab and net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage. Web: www.gtlaw.com.