Pamela Abbate-Dattilo

Shareholder

Email: pabbatedattilo@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7437
Assistant: Julianne Hill, 612.492.7854

PRIMARY SERVICES

Employment & Labor Employment & Labor Litigation Litigation Class Action/Wage and Hour Litigation Workers' Compensation & OSHA

“I realize litigation can be daunting. When it is unavoidable, I will be your voice. I will be your advocate. I will tell your story with passion and conviction. And I will be fully invested in getting you the best possible outcome.”

Overview

Pam advises clients on a variety of day-to-day employment and business disputes. Should litigation become unavoidable, she is a zealous advocate on their behalf.

Pam is an experienced litigator who has handled a full-range of employment and closely-held business dispute cases. She has successfully litigated:

non-compete disputes
business tort and breach of fiduciary duty claims
employment discrimination claims
sexual harassment claims
wrongful termination claims
breach of employment agreement claims
defamation claims
individual and collective action claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act

Pam has litigated before state and federal agencies, in private arbitrations, in state and federal court, and before Minnesota’s Court of Appeals, Minnesota’s Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals, and the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Pam has particular expertise—both in litigation and counseling—in handling family business disputes, non-compete disputes and business tort disputes. “Business torts” include claims arising out of confidentiality, non-compete or non-solicitation agreements, claims involving trade secrets and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Pam also has considerable experience both defending these claims and representing clients who are pursuing them.

Prior to joining Fredrikson & Byron, Pam was a law clerk for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, working primarily on human trafficking and child exploitation policy initiatives. She also worked for former federal prosecutor Hank Shea at the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, part of the University of St. Thomas School of Law, on a unique ethics education initiative involving “lessons learned” presentations by white-collar offenders--including former lawyers, CEOs, CFOs and other executives.

Experience

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Employment

Davies v. Waterstone Capital Management, LP, 856 N.W.2d 711 (Minn. Ct. App. 2015) (further review denied, Minnesota Supreme Court; cert. denied U.S. Supreme Court); obtained reversal of a district court decision and vacated arbitration award of $11 million against an employer arising from the termination of a highly compensated employee.
Rebischke v. The Tile Shop, Federal District Court (MN)—obtained summary judgment for employer in FLSA collective action involving salary deduction allegations.
Ahle et al. v. Veracity Research Co., Federal District Court (MN) – defended national private investigation company in misclassification FLSA collective/class action.
Thomas et al. v. Cascade Mortgage Co., Federal District Court (MN) – defended mortgage lender in minimum wage/overtime FLSA collective/class action case.
Defended owners and officers of iron ore processing plant sued individually in an overtime FLSA collective action case.
Defended agricultural cooperative sued for negligence by a temporary employee who claimed extensive injuries and damages exceeding $30 million as a result of a work place injury
Obtained reversal by appellate court of a ruling that our client, an individual sued for worker’s compensation benefits, was an “employer” under Minnesota’s Worker’s Compensation laws. Appellate court ruling in our client’s favor was upheld by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Obtained summary judgment on a disability discrimination and failure to accommodate lawsuit against a Minnesota hospital in Minnesota State District Court.
Obtained dismissal of a race discrimination lawsuit in Minnesota State District Court on a Rule 12 motion to dismiss.
Obtained dismissal of a race discrimination, retaliation, and workers’ compensation retaliation lawsuit in Minnesota State District Court on a Rule 12 motion to dismiss.
Sternquist v. Pal Mgmt., Inc. Court of Appeals (MN) - Obtained reversal of an unemployment law judge’s determination that our client, an employee who was subjected to harassment, did not quit for a “good reason” caused by the employer.
Member of legal team that conducted an internal investigation of a Big Ten athletic department following allegations of sexual harassment and the athletic director’s resignation.
Conducted internal employment investigations including investigation of a senior VP of a medical device company accused of retaliation and bullying, and investigation of a VP of a construction company accused of sex discrimination and harassment. Also, guided a number of small and medium sized business through internal investigations conducted in-house.

Noncompete, Trade Secret, Business Litigation

Obtained judgment in favor of our client, an IT staffing company, on a tortious interference with contract claim brought against our client after they hired an employee with a non-compete agreement with his prior employer. Judgment was sustained on appeal, and resulted in the Minnesota Supreme Court recognizing for the first time that reliance on advice of counsel is a defense to tortious inference with contract.
Obtained judgment as a matter of law for client seeking to enforce a non-compete agreement in an Asset Purchase Agreement when the seller threatened to violate the covenants and sought a Court-modification to the non-compete.
Defended international insurance broker in non-compete/business tort litigation in federal and state court, including obtaining partial summary judgment.
Defended individual director serving on the board of a start-up software technology company who was sued for purportedly breaching his duties to the company and its shareholders.
Represented mortgage lender in lawsuit seeking enforcement of its employee non-solicitation agreements; summary judgment obtained on breach of employee non-solicitation agreement claims.
Assisted many employees, officers, directors and employers in negotiating resolutions of non-compete and fiduciary duty disputes and avoiding litigation.

Articles & Presentations

Department of Labor Issues New Overtime Rules

May 20, 2016

By Anne M. Radolinski & Pamela Abbate-Dattilo

On May 18, 2016, the Department of Labor issued the long-awaited new regulations which provide widespread and significant changes affecting all businesses and employees covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The regulations are effective December 1, 2016.

Co-Presenter, “Beyond #MeToo: Conducting Effective and Privileged Workplace Investigations,” Fredrikson & Byron Seminar, June 13, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Sexual Harassment: What Should Employers Do Now?,” Fredrikson & Byron Employment Seminar, March 15, 2018
Co-Presenter, “Ten Legal Challenges Faced by Family-Owned Businesses,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 33^rdAnnual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, November 3, 2017
Co-Presenter, “Non-competes Under Siege: How to Protect Your Business from Competition,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 33^rdAnnual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, November 3, 2017
Co-Presenter, “Trade Secrets and Noncompetes from a Litigator’s Perspective,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 32nd Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 26, 2016
Co-Presenter, “ADA Website Accessibility and Public Accommodations,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 32nd Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 26, 2016
Co-Presenter, “Lessons Learned from Sysdyne v. Rousslang,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 31st Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, November 6, 2015
“Do’s and Don’ts of Hiring Your Competitor’s Employees,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 30th Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 28, 2014
“Preparing Your Unemployment Case,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 30th Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 28, 2014

Honors & Education

EDUCATION

University of St. Thomas Law School, J.D., summa cum laude, 2009
University of St. Thomas, B.A., 2006, magna cum laude

BAR ADMISSIONS

Minnesota, 2009

HONORS

Minnesota Super Lawyers, Rising Star – Employment & Labor, 2016-2018
Minnesota State Bar Association, North Star Lawyer, 2012, 2014-2015
Judge Earl R. Larson Award, Federal Bar Association, 2009
Outstanding Achievement Award in Employment Law, MSBA Labor & Employment Law Section, 2008
Symposium Director, St. Thomas Law Review, 2008-2009

Professional Activities

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Minnesota Women Lawyers
Minnesota Bar Association
Federal Bar Association