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Other court filings revealed that last November, Kleiner had offered Ms. Pao $964,502 to settle, an amount based on the projected costs of the case. That she d

Other court filings revealed that last November, Kleiner had offered Ms. Pao $964,502 to settle, an amount based on the projected costs of the case. That she didn't accept the settlement says a lot for her belief in the case (or, at the very least, her odds of winning).

adventured 12y ago
It's hard to tell whether her position was more financial gambling or principle (that is, who knows). She sought $16 million - http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27444497/ellen-pao-seeking-16-million-sex-discrimination-lawsuit http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27444497/ellen-pao-se... She clearly believed monetary compensation was important as part of the case. So then the question becomes, what % of a likelihood of victory would you need to believe in, to go after $16m vs $964k. Or alternatively, perhaps $964k is such a (relatively) modest sum for the context, that it simply wasn't a consideration for her. She can probably earn more than that writing a book about the ordeal.
- SeoxyS 12y ago
  She was seeking $16M in lost wages, and potentially much more in punitive damages. I think, had she won, she could be looking at a ridiculous check close to $100M.
  - adventured 12y ago
    Correct, the punitive damages aspect was immense: "Ellen Pao can sue Kleiner Perkins for up to $160 million in damages" http://www.businessinsider.com/ellen-pao-can-sue-kleiner-perkins-for-damages-2015-3 http://www.businessinsider.com/ellen-pao-can-sue-kleiner-per... http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27760383/judge-ellen-pao-may-claim-punitive-damages-kleiner http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27760383/judge-ellen-...
    - sigzero 12y ago
      Yeah, that is beyond ridiculous.
    - tsotha 12y ago
      You always ask for the moon when you sue someone - it doesn't cost anything to keep adding zeros. I doubt she believed she'd actually get something like that, though. If she did she's a fool.
  - abalone 12y ago
    It's not clear that winning would have involved punitive damages. That typically requires a much higher threshold of egregious intent to cause harm, which I think it's fair to say is not as well supported by the facts and testimony here. Not that it'd be an impossible outcome, but much less likely.
- Devthrowaway80 12y ago
  Incidentally, her husband was in the hole to the tune of $16 million, which I imagine had nothing to do with how much money she was seeking.
  - objclxt 12y ago
    Certainly the judge thought it had nothing to do with it, which is why it couldn't be introduced as evidence.
  - asillystory 12y ago
    All the articles I've looked at say her husband owes way more than $16 million. Where did you get that number?
frozenport 12y ago
Or perhaps reflects poorly on her competency as a would-be partner.
elchief 12y ago
That's a pretty good estimate!

adventured 12y ago

It's hard to tell whether her position was more financial gambling or principle (that is, who knows). She sought $16 million - http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27444497/ellen-pao-seeking-16-million-sex-discrimination-lawsuit http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27444497/ellen-pao-se... She clearly believed monetary compensation was important as part of the case. So then the question becomes, what % of a likelihood of victory would you need to believe in, to go after $16m vs $964k. Or alternatively, perhaps $964k is such a (relatively) modest sum for the context, that it simply wasn't a consideration for her. She can probably earn more than that writing a book about the ordeal.

SeoxyS 12y ago
She was seeking $16M in lost wages, and potentially much more in punitive damages. I think, had she won, she could be looking at a ridiculous check close to $100M.
- adventured 12y ago
  Correct, the punitive damages aspect was immense: "Ellen Pao can sue Kleiner Perkins for up to $160 million in damages" http://www.businessinsider.com/ellen-pao-can-sue-kleiner-perkins-for-damages-2015-3 http://www.businessinsider.com/ellen-pao-can-sue-kleiner-per... http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27760383/judge-ellen-pao-may-claim-punitive-damages-kleiner http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_27760383/judge-ellen-...
  - sigzero 12y ago
    Yeah, that is beyond ridiculous.
  - tsotha 12y ago
    You always ask for the moon when you sue someone - it doesn't cost anything to keep adding zeros. I doubt she believed she'd actually get something like that, though. If she did she's a fool.
- abalone 12y ago
  It's not clear that winning would have involved punitive damages. That typically requires a much higher threshold of egregious intent to cause harm, which I think it's fair to say is not as well supported by the facts and testimony here. Not that it'd be an impossible outcome, but much less likely.
Devthrowaway80 12y ago
Incidentally, her husband was in the hole to the tune of $16 million, which I imagine had nothing to do with how much money she was seeking.
- objclxt 12y ago
  Certainly the judge thought it had nothing to do with it, which is why it couldn't be introduced as evidence.
- asillystory 12y ago
  All the articles I've looked at say her husband owes way more than $16 million. Where did you get that number?

frozenport 12y ago

Or perhaps reflects poorly on her competency as a would-be partner.

elchief 12y ago

That's a pretty good estimate!