Business & Tech

Former SC Johnson Employee Mulls Appeal to Supreme Court

Former SC Johnson employee says he might try to bring his case against the company to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Former SC Johnson employee, Michael DeGuelle, is considering taking his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Arguing that neither the lower courts nor the appellate court has actually heard the merits of his allegations against SCJ - that they committed tax fraud to the tune of millions of dollars - DeGuelle told Patch that he never had the chance to prove what he said was true.

"The merits of the case have never been heard by the court because of the schemes by SC Johnson to cover it up," he said. "We have never argued whether or not SCJ committed tax fraud. We only talked about if I was disgruntled or not."

A federal judge on Friday dismissed DeGuelle's appeal accusing SCJ of firing him for blowing the whistle on what he saw as tax fraud. He worked for SC Johnson for 12 years - from 1997 to 2009 - and contends that SCJ only corrected their tax returns because he brought the issue to their attention.

U.S. Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit Court Judge Richard Posner cautioned DeGuelle that pursuing any further litigation against SC Johnson could result in sanctions, according to a story from The Journal Times.

SCJ spokesperson Kelly Semrau told the newspaper that the company is pleased with the court's decision.

"SC Johnson has invested tremendous energy in setting the record straight following claims made by Mr. DeGuelle about the company’s tax practices … We look forward to putting this case behind us,” she is quoted as saying.

As for taking his case to the Supreme Court, DeGuelle said it might be worth a try.

"What's the worst they can say, that they won't hear my case?" he noted. "What do I have to lose?"

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