McCann Health settles wrongful termination suit with Aussie expat former global creative chief Jeremy Perrott
McCann Health has settled a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by the agency’s former global chief creative officer, Aussie expat Jeremy Perrott, according to this report from MM&M in the US.
Financial terms of the settlement in a district court in Virginia were not disclosed.
“The parties have resolved the matter in a manner that is mutually acceptable and confidential,” McCann and parent company Interpublic Group said in an emailed statement.
In the original complaint, Perrott sought $25 million in damages for wrongful termination and accused both McCann and IPG of defamation, tortious interference with contract, common law conspiracy and gross negligence.
Both parties held a settlement conference before a new judge on May 10, according to the documents.
Five days after the conference, the judge denied motions by McCann and Interpublic to dismiss the suit based on lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, along with denying motions to transfer, for protective order and a motion to stay discovery.
In January, the judge denied a previous motion to dismiss because of the way it was filed, according to an attorney representing McCann and Interpublic. That motion was later refiled.
Perrott was fired last June after an employee complaint claimed he used “offensive and inappropriate language.” Perrott filed the wrongful termination lawsuit in November against his former employer in which he denied making offensive or inappropriate comments and said that McCann Health did not offer proof of the comments before firing him.
In January, McCann Health named fellow Aussie expat Matt Eastwood its global chief creative officer. Eastwood was previously worldwide chief creative officer at J. Walter Thompson.
In a statement to CB, Perrott said: “An unsavory experience that has left me with many questions about policy, process, honesty and trust. But no question in my mind of loyalty and true friends.
“I have been supported by many around the world who never left me to feel alone. Looking forward, I’m excited at what’s in front and can’t wait to get started.”
Perrott is an award-winning creative in his own right and has won a long list of awards including Cannes Lions, Andys, Mobius’, Clios, Clio Health, Globals, RX awards and others.
He was Chairman of Judges at the inaugural Cannes Lions Health Festival in 2014 ~ an event he helped instigate ~ and has also been a keynote speaker at the Clio awards in Miami and Shanghai and also at the Harvard Club in New York.
He has served on other juries such as LIA, the Clio’s and the Clio Health Awards, The Globals, IPA and New York Festivals amongst others.
He also created the United National Foundation Award, was a Global Ambassador for D&AD White Pencil, and founder and mentor for the Smash Program.
Under his watch, McCann Health has been recognized as the most creatively awarded healthcare network in the world, four years in a row. Recently, McCann Health was named Network of the Year by The Global Awards for the second year running, an organization dedicated to the recognition of creative & innovative excellence in healthcare communications.
17 Comments
Well done Jeremy. Plenty more of these to come.
I worked for Jeremy and always found him to be lovely and professional. Glad of this outcome.
Good on you mate
McCann Health must be complete idiots. Anyone that has ever worked with Jeremy knows that he is one of the most caring and deeply respectful people on the planet. And what a track record as a creative leader…
Tried to lawyer their way out of it after knowing they screwed up.
Submitting a motion to stay discovery (showing information collected) is f-ing scary for an employer to do in a case like this.
Anyone thinking of working for IPG / McCann – beware.
By the sounds of it the motion to stay discovery is because there wasn’t any evidence to turn over anyway!
You wouldn’t trust the local management after the send off they gave their previous MD. Disgusting.
Well deserved & with full respect mate!
What an achievement. Here’s to the man responsible for the success of the healthcare advertising industry today, and for having the balls to stand up for and fight for the truth. The voice of many who couldn’t speak up. Congrats.
Well done Jeremy. McCann and IPG are now run by social justice warriors who care more about virtue signaling about being inclusive and how much they care about their people when in reality the exact opposite is true. In the end the last thing they wanted was for this to be exposed for all to see through discovery. Chalk one up for the good guys against these big corporate frauds!
What a bunch of idiots. I don’t know the man but from what I read above well done Jeremy. The above statement is probably part of the settlement terms and reeks of a network in turmoil. Who would want to work for a network that treats people like shit? Ohhh sorry Matt Eastwood does.
Well Done Jeremy Perrott
Fight the good fight, Maestro!
Well done to stand up and not cave to the nonsense! All the best
I was flabbergasted when I read about Jeremy and the accusations against him. I worked for him and found him to be the most incredibly creative, kind hearted family man. Shame on all those that tried to bring him down.
Very kind and considerate person for sure.
Jeremy was like a big brother to me when I was young and staying at his family’s Guest House in Healsville Australia. I remember watching him paint and explaining to me how the ideas flowed through to the canvas. He is gifted, caring and a great person, why a company would do this to him is beyond comprehension.