Mehri & Skalet Celebrates Earth Month with Environmental Whistleblower Win

April 25, 2023

by M&S Staff

Water Contamination Whistleblower Lawsuit Reaches Settlement

This month, Mehri & Skalet’s whistleblower team — Richard Condit, Cleveland Lawrence III, and Ezra Bronstein — reached a global settlement with the City of Delray Beach, the City Manager, and the Utilities Director, for M&S client Christine Ferrigan, a former Delray Beach water inspector. When Ms. Ferrigan raised concerns in 2021 about contaminated drinking water, the city was fined over $1 million for negligence and subsequently fired Ms. Ferrigan. M&S filed a federal lawsuit in July 2022 on behalf of Ms. Ferrigan. On April 18, 2023, Delray Beach approved a settlement for $818,500, a victory for whistleblowers, public safety advocates, and environmentalists everywhere. The settlement also resolved Ms. Ferrigan’s complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and OSHA released a formal finding that Ms. Ferrigan was harassed and subjected to retaliation.

“Today’s settlement is about more than me — it’s about whistleblowers everywhere who are standing up for community safety,” said Ms. Ferrigan. “The people of Delray Beach, and people everywhere, deserve clean water and to know when their health is at risk. I hope today’s settlement will encourage potential whistleblowers everywhere to speak up and know their legal protections.”


The Hill: Mehri & Skalet Banking Whistleblower Op-ed

Following two historic bank failuresSilicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank whistleblower attorneys Richard Condit and Ezra Bronstein penned, with additional support from attorney Cleveland Lawrence III, an op-ed in The Hill urging Congress to modernize bank whistleblower laws. In the piece, the attorneys recommend a better system to replace the current archaic bank whistleblower laws, highlighting the importance of whistleblowers in preventing future bank failures.

“Whistleblowers who may lose their jobs and careers for pushing to ensure that necessary corrections are instituted cannot be expected to perform a high wire act, juggling concerns about retaliation with efforts to expose suspected wrongdoing, without a robust safety net. It is long overdue for Congress to modernize banking whistleblower protections and create an award program to bolster prudential regulators’ oversight.”


National Whistleblower Center Highlights Mehri & Skalet’s Case

During Earth Month and beyond, Mehri & Skalet proudly supports whistleblowers and the role they play in preventing environmental crises. The National Whistleblower Center shared Ms. Ferrigan’s story alongside the stories of other whistleblowers who sounded the alarm in the face of environmental wrongdoing.