Deborah Gage Haude, Esq. mediates and arbitrates individual, multi‐party, class action and collective claims and actions involving individuals, employees, executives, professionals and companies, partnerships, and not‐for‐profit organizations of all sizes. In both employment and in business disputes, parties and counsel have praised her ability to appreciate and handle highly charged emotional situations and to help parties work towards pragmatic solutions. Having litigated and resolved individual, class and collective actions for over 20 years as an attorney before becoming a neutral in 2003, Ms. Haude is comfortable with complex legal and factual situations and with managing all facets of large and small cases. As a Special Master for the resolution of a large and complex nationwide sexual harassment case, she made initial determinations, managed the claims and response process, adjudicated claims, and monitored the company’s compliance with the consent decree.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Sole arbitrator, member and chair of arbitration panels, and party arbitrator. Arbitrator in individual, class action, and collective action cases.
- Mediator for individual and class action cases, as well as pre-litigation disputes.
- Special Master in a nationwide discrimination class action case, to adjudicate settlement awards in which she determined eligibility and now serves in a monitoring capacity
Representative Matters
- Special Master/Settlement Master
- Ms. Haude was selected by class counsel and defense counsel and approved by a federal district judge in the Northern District of Illinois to be Special Master for a large, complex and creative settlement of a nationwide class action sexual harassment lawsuit. Ms. Haude initially determined eligibility of putative class members, directed the claims and response process, conducted neutral fact‐finding, and adjudicated the claims of three tiers of claimants, including conducting hearings for one of the tiers. Following the adjudication phase, she monitored the company’s compliance with the consent decree for a two year period.
Representative Mediations
- Class Action
- Mediated information exchanges and then settlement of class action brought by three subclasses of management and non‐management employees of a nationwide home improvement chain for unpaid vacation pay and bonuses in a class action under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA)
- Mediated a number of off‐the‐clock and/or misclassification class and collective action overtime claims and actions brought under various state laws and FLSA by employees in various industries and public employer, as well as retaliation claims of some named plaintiffs or class reps. Addressed issues of numerosity, commonality, manageability of hybrid Rule 23/FLSA actions, calculation of damages, and applicability of recent case law
- Employment/Executives/Professionals
- Mediated claims by executives in start‐up, active, and contracting businesses for breach of contract, fraudulent inducement, and various discrimination claims
- Mediated separations of in‐house counsel as well as associate of law firm
- Mediated age, disability, gender, pregnancy, national origin, race, and sexual harassment claims under ADA, ADEA, OWBPA, ERISA, Title VII, PDA, EPA, §1981, and state laws of employees in variety of businesses and non‐profits. Highly emotional sessions sometimes included spouse, significant other, parent and/or separate counsel for supervisor or franchisor
- Mediated claims for retaliatory discharge and for various workplace torts
- Business/Commercial/Boards
- Mediated governance dispute among factions of a not‐for‐profit board
- Mediated creative resolutions to Board/executive disputes
- Mediated breach of contract and other claims of separated Executive Director with committee of trade association’s board
- Mediated gender and regulatory claims of employee in banking industry, including mediating information exchanges, multiple sessions and presentation by employee and counsel to a committee of the board, followed by meeting with Ms. Haude and the board committee
- Co‐mediated dispute among condominium association, its insurer, independent adjuster, and contractor
- Co‐mediated dispute between trustee in bankruptcy and investment firm that had dealt with entity related to creator of Ponzi scheme
- Co‐mediated multi‐party action among general contractor and two levels of subcontractors, involving surety and assignee
Representative Arbitrations
- Class Action
- Arbitrated remaining issues in IWPCA class action described above, including eligibility to participate, handling of settlement fund, direction of claims administrator, type and extent of notice, fairness and attorneys fees
- Arbitrated issues relating to notice, conditional certification and settlement of FLSA claims in misclassification collective overtime action brought by loan officers in over 20 states under FLSA and various state laws
- Employment/Executives/Professionals
- As panelist, arbitrated action by partner of large professional organization that retirement was involuntary and violated partnership agreement and age discrimination laws
- Arbitrated action by General Manager of acquired automotive‐related company that termination was not for cause under executive employment agreement
- Arbitrated actions for national origin and whistleblower claims, for ADA, state law disability discrimination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and constructive discharge, and for race discrimination and racial harassment in restaurant, fast food, transportation‐related and other industries
- As sole arbitrator and as panelist, arbitrator in various arbitrations regarding bonus and compensation disputes in the accounting, consulting and financial services industries
- Business/Commercial
- As sole arbitrator, arbitrated interim relief in portion of multi‐party unfair competition action by a nationwide environmental service claiming breach of non‐compete against one party
- Selected as neutral chair of three arbitrator panel arbitrating uninsured motorist claim
- As sole arbitrator in cases involving claims by credit card holders of various torts and violations of credit laws against large financial institutions seeking payment, oversaw settlement negotiations and settlement process
- Sole arbitrator in numerous credit card and loan interest cases