The Plastics Industry Association and the CEO it fired in 2022, Tony Radoszewski, have apparently settled their legal battles against each other.
According to a joint filing from attorneys for both sides in federal court in Washington D.C., the two sides have agreed to settle and dismiss their claims. They proposed a short draft order to be signed by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the case.
Terms were not disclosed but the proposed order for Jackson's signature said that the two sides "shall bear their own costs."
Radoszewski's attorney, Michael Oddo, said in a written statement that the two sides have settled their differences.
"Yes, Mr. Radoszewski and [the association] resolved their disputes, but the terms of their agreement are confidential, so of course we cannot comment further," Oddo said. "As you know, Mr. Radoszewski dedicated his career of almost 45 years to the plastics industry and is pleased to be moving forward. He wishes his former colleagues at [the Plastics industry Association] the very best."
The association put out its own statement noting the settlement.
"We have come to a mutually agreed upon resolution in this case and we are happy to be moving forward. We all agree the plastics industry is a great one and the Plastics Industry Association thanks Mr. Radoszewski for his many years working in and for that industry," it noted.
There is no indication in the court docket on when Jackson would decide on the proposed order, which was filed Nov. 17.
Jackson had sent the case to mediation in an Aug. 24 order. In comments from the bench in July, she urged both sides to settle, saying that based on her review of evidence, neither party would come out of a trial "looking good" and that the small amount of money involved "is not likely to invoke much sympathy from the jury."
In that July bench ruling, Jackson had dismissed most of the claims the parties had filed against each other.
After that, Radoszewski had petitioned the court on Aug. 17 to allow him to refile his claim challenging his firing and alleging that he was owed $546,000, or one year of his salary, at the time of his 2022 dismissal.
He also told the court he was still owed $26,250 in other unpaid salary, and, if he was not entitled to one year's salary for being fired without cause, he was owed $91,000 in severance, the equivalent of two months of pay.
The association, for its part, maintained it fired Radoszewski in March 2022 because he didn't relocate from Texas, where he led a plastics pipe trade association, to the group's headquarters in Washington.
The association said that caused staff retention and morale problems as well as loss of faith in Radoszewski by board members. It had countersued Radoszewski for $163,000, to recover money it paid him in 2019, when he started the job, to cover moving costs.
Radoszewski had argued that the COVID-19 pandemic complicated his relocation, that he had moved temporarily and was prepared to move permanently, that his contract did not specifically require moving to the Washington area and that he received positive job reviews.
Jackson had said from the bench that Radoszewski's contract did not require him to relocate but she said the association was still broadly within its legal rights when it fired him.