civil court procedures

[aklady]

My company and I have been accused of sexual harassment due to me termininating an employee under my supervision approximately 2 1/2 years ago. Alaska is an "at will" state.
We have finally set a court date in March of 2000.
In the meantime, the company has filed Chapter 7. So they are out of it all together.

The terminated employee retained a "Right To Sue" letter from the EEOC. I have never seen the actual accusation, nor been contacted by the EEOC or notified regarding an investigation. (to the best of my knowledge, an investigation has not been performed)

I gave my deposition a year and a half ago and it has never been entered into the courts.
His attorney has never made an attempt to contact me regarding my financial status to see if I am worth sueing. (I know if I lose then they can garnish wages...etc);
My questions are:
When a state has an "At Will" clause...do you find an increase in harassment or discrimination charges?
When or Will I ever met to discuss my financial status? (I think the terminated employee was expecting millions from company)
BTW, the company has stood by me and did not terminate me due to the fact they knew it was a false accusation.)

Needless to say my life has been in a turmoil and I feel like I have been on an emotional rollercoater for the last couple of years.
Oh another thing..that old saying holds true
"never hire friends or family" This person that I terninated was my best friends son.
I lost a very good friend due to all of this.
She is his only witness in this accusation even tho she was never employed at the same company. All she will testify about is our converations that we have had over the years.We shared alot of personal things about each other and now she is going to use it against me. Doesn't seem fair...but obviously his attorney thinks so or he wouldn't have taken the case.
Thank You In Advance For Your Reply
Sincerely,

AKlady

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[Attorney_Replogle]

Your story is too confusing to answer. To begin with, unless a company is so small financially, they rarely ever file Chapter 7. Second, the plaintiff's attorney should or may have contested the bankruptcy discharge by claiming the harassment was malicious. Third, if the discharge was granted and the company is still a named defendant in the civil trial, what was the purpose of the bankruptcy? Fourth, do you have legal counsel representing you directly? If not and you are a named defendant, why are you waiting for trial to commence without seeking to retain an attorney? Fifth, generally speaking the company's attorney represents the company and its key employees involved. So his or her loyalty and focus is on the company, not you and your interests. When, if ever, anyone will ask about your financial conditions is a total guess. Last, I don't know if there are any statistics regarding at-will and non at-will states lawsuits.

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Mark B. Replogle