Ellen Pao asked VC firm for $2.7 million not to appeal

Elizabeth Weise | USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — The revelations keep coming in the Ellen Pao discrimination case that appeared to have ended when she lost on all counts. In fact, it is far from over.

A frank and sometimes cutting court filing Friday shows the former venture capitalist asked for $2.7 million not to appeal her loss, nearly three times what she was offered as a settlement before the case went to trial.

In a much-publicized five week trial, Pao sued her former employer, the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for $16 million in lost wages and future earnings because of gender discrimination and retaliation.

She lost on all claims on March 27 in San Francisco Superior Court.

After the loss, Kleiner filed a request for just under $1 million to recover its costs for the trial. That $1 million didn't include charges for Kleiner's legal team, which likely ran into the millions.

In response, Pao filed a notice disputing the request, calling the amount unreasonable.

At some point, she also asked Kleiner for $2.7 million to not appeal, though neither side will say when that was. Kleiner did not accept the offer and on Tuesday Pao filed a notice that she planned to appeal the decision.

On Friday, separate from the appeal notice, Kleiner filed its response to Pao's previous filing disputing the repayment costs.

"Her claim for unreasonableness is particularly nonsensical given her own post-trial demand of KPCB for $2.7 million to cover her fees and costs," it read.

In the filing, also Kleiner states that Pao refused a $1 million settlement offer prior to the trial.

Pao is interim CEO at Reddit, a news and discussion site. Her spokeswoman, Heather Wilson, said she would not comment on the filing.

In a statement, Kleiner's Christina Lee said Pao was obligated, as a matter of law, to repay a portion of the company's legal costs.

When Kleiner offered to waive costs in an attempt to bring this matter to a close, Pao instead "demanded an additional $2.7 million payment from KPCB in return for not appealing, despite the jury's unequivocal verdict in our favor on all counts. We have no intention of accepting this unreasonable demand," Lee said.