Christopher Azzaro, a former General Sales Manager at John Howard Motors in Morgantown, WV, settled a lawsuit against his former employer this week for $2.1 million.
Mr. Azzaro was fired from John Howard Motors on February 13, 2015. He filed a wrongful termination suit against John Howard Motors, alleging that he was fired for making complaints about safety and other improper activities at the dealership. The documents filed in this case allege that the ownership of John Howard Motors retaliated against Christopher Azzaro by going to the police with false charges. In December of 2015, Christopher Azzaro was arrested on charges of embezzlement and other crimes.
All criminal charges against Christopher Azzaro were dismissed by Judge Susan B. Tucker, Circuit Court Judge of Monongalia County, in January of 2017.
Mr. Azzaro’s attorney, Mark A. Atkinson of Atkinson & Polak, PLLC in Charleston, West Virginia, then amended the Complaint to include a charge of malicious prosecution.
The case was set to go to trial on August 1, 2017, before Judge Tucker. The case settled, however, on July 31, 2017, with an agreement that John Howard Motors and Randy Buzzo would pay Christopher Azzaro $2.1 million.
“Obviously, the amount of this settlement totally clears Chris Azzaro of these false charges”, said Mark Atkinson, Mr. Azzaro’s attorney.
