# Abbasi v. Branding Brand, Inc. — Case Knowledge (origin-neutral research source)

> Grounding for the research gateway. Facts reconciled to the defense cockpit (adversarially audited). Origin-neutral: describe conduct, contracts, sworn statements, dates, documents — never national origin, immigration, religion, ethnicity, or marriage. Potential crimes / sworn-statement inconsistencies are framed as POTENTIAL (not adjudicated) and always with: "provided only as part of what was found preparing for mediation; Branding Brand has no intention of reporting it to anyone."

## Posture
- Plaintiff: Muhammad Umar Abbasi (Business Requirements Analyst, hired 2021-12-27, terminated 2025-05-09). Defendant: Branding Brand, Inc. (Pittsburgh mobile-commerce SaaS).
- Operative complaint served 12/2/2025 (CT Corp 12/3/2025), Ramsey County MN. SIX counts: ESST interference/retaliation, MPLA interference/retaliation, FMLA interference/discrimination. Jury demand; no MHRA count.
- Mediation 6/29/2026 (neutral Nicholas May). **Defense goal: the case DROPPED / mutual walk-away (~$0), not a payout.**

## Plaintiff's claims & the live issues
- ESST and MPLA (MN sick-and-safe-time / parental-leave) + retaliation are the live counts. The retaliation claim likely survives summary judgment.
- FMLA Counts V & VI: plaintiff appears to have DROPPED them; BB footnotes them as moot on the sub-50-within-75-miles worksite test (of 92 employed on 4/10/2025, ~28 within 75 mi of Pittsburgh, 1 in MN). Do not argue "fails as a matter of law"; treat as dropped/moot.

## The defense (cost + account-load, NEVER "out-performed")
1. **Genuine economic RIF, decided before the leave notice.** The workforce-planning record marked Abbasi for reduction from the earliest 4/6/2025 revision (peers spared 4/8) — before the 4/10/2025 first leave notice (formal written request 4/14). The "Team Restructuring" directive was sent by the CEO to the manager on 5/9 (process designed 5/8 by the GC).
2. **Comparator rests on COST + ACCOUNT-LOAD only.** The retained same-role peer cost less and carried named billable client accounts; Abbasi sat at the bottom of the February-2025 staffing model with no client-account assignments. Output-volume / Jira / Tempo / manager-ranking comparisons are method-unreliable and are NOT relied upon (avoid any "the peer out-produced him" framing — Hutson trap).
3. **No pattern of penalizing leave** — retained leave-taking comparators; a parental-leave salary advance was affirmatively forgiven.
4. **Genuine seat reduction** — the BA/QA function reduced; neither the eliminated seat nor a departed contractor lead was backfilled.

## Counterclaims (leverage toward a drop — file nothing new)
- **Breach of contract + breach of duty of loyalty (Counts I & II)** — the documented, leverageable counterclaims. Operative contract: the signed 2021-12-21 Confidentiality/IP/Non-Compete agreement (PA governing law/forum) + four signed §3.14 handbook acknowledgments (2021, 2023, 2024, Feb-2025).
- **Trade-secret count** is affirmatively pleaded by counsel (a "downloaded client-requirements document"), BUT the underlying artifact is unproducible: as of 6/26 both BB counsel confirmed they do not hold the alleged 2/15/2024 Slack message or the document; it traces to an internal AI analysis, not a preserved file; it is not in BB's 94-channel Slack export and the Drive event is past Google's 180-day retention. Treat as caucus-only; lead with breach + loyalty; be ready to back it off. Do not assert it as proven.
- Post-term non-compete is void on the without-Cause carve-out — never lean on the restraint; rely on the during-employment duty of loyalty / §3.14.

## After-acquired evidence (caps wage damages; conduct during employment)
- **TechScylla** — an undisclosed competing software/UX/e-commerce/marketing agency in BB's exact lane, built during employment using BB's Figma seat during work hours (10 dated Figma design comments Jan–Feb 2024; "on-the-clock" billing overlap on multiple 2024 workdays). Umar operated/directed it (operational role; StellarStack brands him "Head of Digital Solutions, TechScylla" — a credibility signal, not titled-ownership proof).
- **RideVibe Motors / AIMZ Wholesale** — a used-car dealership (titled to Rana Arsalan Ahmad of record; Umar's titled ownership ND / provable draw $0 — the point is operational control / divided effort, NOT titled ownership; kinship is a flag, not proof). On two recorded 9/23/2025 sales calls Umar in his own voice confirms "this is your business? — Correct," "we started February of this year," schedules test drives, "I live close to the dealership," open Saturdays (MN one-party-consent; caucus-only; admissibility per counsel; exhibit ev_ridevibe_calls).
- **Extended unauthorized international remote work in 2024** (153 consecutive days; 5.4× the 4-week policy cap; concealed; VPN-masked) — independently terminable if known.

## Credibility / sworn-statement inconsistencies (POTENTIAL — never adjudicated; BB will not report)
- **2021 Chapter 7 bankruptcy** — Schedule A/B "No" to owning any LLC interest conflicts with the contemporaneous HMZAVERSE LLC membership (signed 83 days pre-petition) + a SOFA nominee admission that an entity registered to him was run/operated by his brother. Potential false oath / perjury (potential 18 U.S.C. §152 / §1621; counsel confirms the cite) — flagged as POTENTIAL only; goes to plaintiff credibility. Retained as available credibility evidence per counsel (6/28).
- **10/30/2025 IFP fee-waiver affidavit** — sworn indigency while operating the licensed dealership with active inventory. Potential false sworn statement (potential MN §609.48 / §563.01; counsel confirms). Guards: never "couldn't pay the $402" (a co-party paid it); affidavit figures are ND; present liquidity, not net worth.
- **Credential** — his sworn Answer ¶65 admits listing a Master of Information Technology when (per his Answer) the field was Electrical Engineering — an admitted field-of-study misrepresentation. Caucus-only impeachment, known-at-hire; do not lead with "no degree."

## Damages / the real exposure
- Plaintiff's model ~$1.6M (wage loss doubled + emotional + punitive + fees); wage loss is materially limited by after-acquired evidence + mitigation. Salary $102,907.30.
- **The true exposure is the one-way Minn. Stat. §181.944 prevailing-plaintiff FEE engine** — after-acquired evidence caps wages but not fees, and any small ESST/MPLA win makes the plaintiff a "prevailing party" and switches the fee meter on. That is why certainty (a drop/walk-away) beats a defense verdict.
- Counterclaim setoff (faithless-servant): Marsh wage-forfeiture floor ~$7,916; broader band $15–40K with diverted-gain disgorgement.

## Key exhibits (54 total, all bundled + linked)
Signed NDA (ev_nda); four §3.14 acknowledgments (ev_ack_2021/2023/2024/2025); offer letter (ev_offer_letter); handbook §3.14 (ev_handbook); TechScylla Figma comments (ev_figma_techscylla) + TechScylla site captures (ev_ts_*) + Wayback (ev_ts_wayback/_img); RideVibe captures (ev_ridevibe_*, ev_rv_*) + dealer-license packet (ev_mv_dealer_app, ev_commloc, ev_surety; ev_zoning is a BLANK form template); "my auto dealership" admission email (ev_dealership_my_auto); RideVibe call transcripts (ev_ridevibe_calls); workforce-planning 4/6 (ev_workforce_0406); Feb-2025 staffing model (ev_staffing_feb2025); comp letters (ev_comp_*); annual review (ev_annual_review); parental-leave-approval thread (ev_pozza_leave_thread); termination letter (ev_termination_letter); pleadings/letters (ev_complaint, ev_answer_cc, ev_hkm_*, ev_babst_1222).

## Do-not-say
National origin / immigration / visa / religion / ethnicity / marriage. "Perjury" as an adjudicated fact (use "potential"). Threats to report. "The peer out-produced him." "Couldn't pay the $402."