Around New England

Former Employee Sues ‘Howie Carr Show’ for $800,000;
Carr’s Lawyers:
Nothing To See Here Folks, Move Along

November 16, 2018

A former operations manager of The Howie Carr Show is suing his former employer over alleged account hacking and unwanted email messages that he argues violated a “no-contact” clause in a settlement agreement he made with the show in February.

According to the Keene Sentinel and the Union Leader, Jared Goodell, of Keene, New Hampshire, who worked for Carr’s show for less than two years ending in February 2018, is seeking $800,000 in damages. Lawyers for Carr and his company claim the suit is “factually and legally without merit” and have filed a motion to dismiss in U.S. District Court in Concord.

Howie Carr, an author and columnist for The Boston Herald, is a longtime conservative radio talk show host in Boston.

The Keene Sentinel reports Goodall reached a settlement agreement in March entitling Goodall to compensation distributed over several months (ending in June 2018, according to the Union Leader). The amount of the settlement is redacted in the copy filed with the court. The agreement refers to “claims” both Goodall and Carr’s company thought they had against each other, but doesn’t say what they were, and also doesn’t say why Goodall’s employment ended, according to the Keene Sentinel.

Goodell claims in his suit that after leaving Carr’s show, he received at least 14 email messages from Carr, all of which, the suit further claims, represent a breach of contract.

The Keene Sentinel reports that Goodell claims Carr’s “company attempted two other forms of ‘communication’ with him, violating the settlement. The lawsuit alleges the Howie Carr Show tried to access Goodell’s personal Uber account and filed a ‘false insurance claim’ accusing him of ‘dishonesty’.”

Cowan responded to the claim by saying that the email messages were merely marketing emails sent to a wide audience of listed subscribers, a list Goodell himself was on, and does not constitute contact.

“Each email is written to a broad audience and contains no content that is personally directed at Mr. Goodell,” Cowan told the Union Leader.

As for the alleged hacking, Cowan states that Carr’s company believed the Uber account was the company’s own, and that it was not hacked. According to the Keene Sentinel, Goodell’s lawyer, Joseph S. Hoppock of Keene, said he intends to file “a determined and vigorous objection” to Carr’s petition for dismissal.