LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Indiana Pacers owner Herbert Simon and his wife, Bui Simon, expressed confidence today after a jury was empanelled in the second trial in recent weeks on the employment claims of a former household employee.

"We are committed to a firm defense as a matter of principle," said Mrs. Simon, a former Miss Universe from Thailand. "We are setting an example for our children that the responsible thing to do is to stand up for what is right."

Trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on the back pay claims of Mayra Acosta, one of the Simons' former nannies, begins less than a month after the Simons recorded a major court victory over another former nanny, Claudia Leite Muehler, and a former driver, Robert G. Young.

In a final decision filed October 17, Superior Court Judge Amy D. Hogue ruled that the testimony of Ms. Leite Muehler "was not credible," and her contention that Mrs. Simon fired her because she was pregnant "does not comport with the evidence or with common sense."

Judge Hogue ruled that the claims of Mr. Young also were "not credible" and that his calculations of wages he claimed were owed contained "so many mistakes and inconsistencies that the court could not accept the calculations..."

The Simons described Ms. Leite Muehler's and Mr. Young's allegations as "ruthless and offensive" and said the Court's ruling rejecting their claims was vindication.

Ms. Acosta is represented by Joseph Davis, the same attorney who represented Ms. Leite Muehler and Mr. Young. Ms. Acosta's claims in the current trial parallel those of Ms. Leite Muehler who claimed that she was owed back pay for overtime. The Court rejected Ms. Leite Muehler's back pay claims, ruling that as a nanny she was a personal attendant and not entitled to overtime pay under the California Labor Code.

Ms. Acosta is claiming that she was actually a Spanish teacher because she spoke and read to the Simons' son in Spanish while she was employed as a nanny.

"We believe that Ms. Acosta's claims are baseless and should never have been brought in the first place," said the Simons' attorney, Patricia Glaser of Glaser, Weil, Fink, Jacobs, Howard, Avchen & Shapiro LLP, who also represented them in the Leite Muehler-Young trial.

SOURCE Herbert and Bui Simon

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