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Judge allows malicious prosecution claim in attorney’s countersuit against McElroy Deutsch

By Debra Cassens Weiss

October 2, 2024, 2:48 pm CDT

A lawyer who countersued McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter for defamation and retaliation may add a malicious prosecution claim to the action, a New Jersey judge has ruled.

Lawyer Nicole Alexander, McElroy Deutsch’s former director of business and professional development, countersued after the law firm filed a lawsuit against her and her husband, former McElroy Deutsch chief financial officer John Dunlea. MeElroy Deutsch accused the couple of “business-card abuse” and Dunlea of paying himself unauthorized bonuses.

Law360 covered the Sept. 27 decision and spoke with Jeffrey Pollock of Fox Rothschild, who is Alexander’s lawyer.

“It may be great sport for McElroy to destroy a former employee’s life, but this claim was wrongful when it was filed, and it is tortious to maintain it,” Pollock told Law360.

Dunlea pleaded guilty in May to embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm over a six-year period and failing to pay more than $22,000 in state income taxes. He was sentenced to five years in state prison in July.

Alexander has said she was unaware of wrongdoing. She filed a separate suit arguing that the firm engaged in marital-status discrimination because it fired her based on her marriage to Dunlea. The two cases have been consolidated, Law.com previously reported.

See also:

Former McElroy Deutsch CFO faces criminal charges for alleged $1.5M embezzlement