A 15-month legal battle has ended in victory for Terri Paddock.
It has been found that Paddock was unfairly dismissed from WhatsOnStage Limited, by its then new American owners, TheaterMania.com, Inc.
TheaterMania dismissed Paddock from WhatsOnStage, the company which she co–founded and ran for more than sixteen years, alleging gross misconduct and bringing the company into disrepute.
The London Central Employment Tribunal ruled that there were no reasonable grounds to dismiss Paddock and the company had not followed a fair procedure in doing so. It also noted TheaterMania's CEO, Gretchen Shugart's “uncompromisingly difficult” management style in respect of claims of bullying and harassment by Paddock.
Paddock commented, “it has been a long and difficult 15 months. WhatsOnStage was a company that I was passionately committed to. It broke my heart to leave the company in such a manner. I am relieved to have the opportunity to clear my name and to be vindicated at last.”