‘Frivolous and vexatious’ gender discrimination claim against boutique dismissed – Lawyers Weekly

Lawyer Dawn Anters has had his case against law firm D G Thompson (DGT) dismissed after he claimed that the firm did not hire him based on his gender and marital status.

In this complaint, he claimed the firm did not offer him employment because of his sex and marital status, in what he alleged were breaches of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977. Mr Anters also noted that the severity of the rejection was amplified by the fact that he found the interviewing lawyers “very attractive and beautiful”.

Mr Anters sent a letter to the firm, asserting that he felt discriminated against because he was a man, because of the questions he was asked during the interview, as well as the fact that according to DGT’s website, all the solicitors at the firm were female.

According to the judgment, he also thought that DGT may have assumed he was female “because the name Dawn was an atypical male name”.

Mr Anters insisted that DGT pay him $5,000 for injury to his feelings, requested a letter of apology from the firm, and demanded that both his female interviewers write “I like MEN” by hand using a “red ink pen on a piece of white paper no less than 10 times and scan and email this” to him.

In response to this, DGT submitted that Mr Anters had acted in a “demeaning and disrespectful manner” and sought costs on the basis that the claim was “frivolous and vexatious”.

During cross-examination in the proceedings, it also came to light that Mr Anters had made “numerous discrimination complaints” against employers who had not offered him a position. Two of these he could not discuss due to non-disclosure agreements.

The tribunal dismissed the claim against DGT, as well as the application for costs.

Source: ‘Frivolous and vexatious’ gender discrimination claim against boutique dismissed – Lawyers Weekly