SCRANTON – A Pennsylvania man asserts that a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership in Poland where he formerly worked and its owners defamed him with a bad reference, after he immigrated to the United States and attempted to obtain employment with a Harley-Davidson dealership in Tannersville.
Marek Dziadosz of Mount Pocono filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on Feb. 10 versus GOC Myszkowski SP.JA WNA (doing business as “GOC Harley-Davidson Rzeszow”, “Game Over Cycles” and “Ego-Light SP.Z.O.O”), Stanislaw Myszkowski and Karol Mika, all of Rzeszow, Poland.
According to the suit, Dziadosz began working at GOC from the inception of the business in Poland in January 2012, developing new departments and business plans, representing the company at trade shows, securing funding, establishing its social media presence and having a significant influence on the decision-making of the company.
“In 2017, plaintiff entered the United States on a visitor visa for a business trip to on behalf of GOC to attend the Harley-Davidson dealer meeting in Los Angeles, Calif. and to attend the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. Eventually, plaintiff immigrated to the United States and applied for employment with Harley-Davidson PA,” the suit states.
“Upon applying for the job and during multiple discussions with Harley-Davidson PA, plaintiff was told he was qualified and a perfect fit for a senior management position developing and operating the e-commerce store for Harley-Davidson PA.”
As the hiring discussions reached their conclusion, an oral agreement was reached by and between Harley-Davidson PA and plaintiff regarding plaintiff’s employment as a senior high-level manager and supervisor with job duties encompassing the creation and modification Harley-Davidson PA’s e-commerce site with the attending salary, commissions, bonuses, staff and other perks.
The process then went to Harley-Davidson PA contacting Dziadosz’s former employers in Poland for a reference.
“In response, on or about March 5, 2020, defendants emailed Harley-Davidson PA a job reference which was filled with untruths, falsehoods and outright lies in a malicious attempt to destroy plaintiff’s job prospects – the very job prospects defendants knew were at stake because of the nature of the email requesting references for an employment position, specifically plaintiff’s negotiated employment and senior level job position,” per the suit.
“As a result of the blatantly false and intentionally tortious nature of defendants’ email, plaintiff was harmed, as he was not able to secure the senior level employment position, the details of which had already been negotiated and agreed to by plaintiff and Harley-Davidson PA.”
The email in question alleged that Dziadosz handcuffed his former employers’ means to conduct online sales, redirected their company phone line to his own private account, changed building security passwords and requested monthly payment from his former employer in order to revert these things back to their original condition.
The plaintiff claims he was instead forced to accept a position as a low-level hourly worker with “no staff, no office and no resources to ensure success of the e-commerce store”, losing out on he what he argues is at least $2 million in damages as a result of the defendants’ actions.
“Defendants’ unjustifiable negative job reference with in retaliation of plaintiff voluntarily leaving his employment with defendants and moving to the United States to work for a different Harley-Davidson dealership located in Pennsylvania,” the suit states.
For counts of intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective contract relations, defamation, commercial disparagement, libel, slander per se, fraud, common law harassment, tortious interference with a prospective economic advantage, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and equitable relief, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus interest, costs and such other relief as the Court deems appropriate.
The plaintiff is represented by Darius A. Marzec of Marzec Law Firm, in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The defendants have not yet secured legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 3:21-cv-00251
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com