Matthew Crotty
Member
Tel: (509) 850 - 7011
Email: mzc@riverside-law.com
EDUCATION
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Gonzaga University School of Law
Magna Cum Laude
J.D. (2007)
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University of Washington
Magna Cum Laude
M.A. Teaching (2004)
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Gonzaga University
Magna Cum Laude
B.A. History (1997)
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BAR ADMISSIONS
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Washington
Idaho
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Washington
U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington
U.S. District Court, District of Idaho
U.S. District Court, C.D., E.D., N.D., and S.D. of California
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
U.S. District Court, M.D. and S.D. of Florida
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts
U.S. District Court, District of Montana
U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, District of South Dakota
U.S. District Court, E.D. and W.D. of Virginia
U.S. District Court, E.D. and W.D. of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
U.S. Federal Court of Claims
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, E.D. and W.D. of Washington
Matt grew up in Spokane, Washington. Upon graduating from Lewis and Clark High School, Matt attended Gonzaga University on an Army ROTC scholarship. After graduating from Gonzaga, Matt served four years on active duty as an Intelligence Officer. His final active-duty posting was with the Army’s elite 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
Eventually, Matt left the active duty Army, moved to Seattle, and obtained a Masters in Teaching from the University of Washington. Shortly after graduating from teaching school, the Army recalled Matt to active-duty military service. Matt spent 2003 – 2004 in the Middle East and East Africa providing intelligence support to Army, Navy, and Air Force Special Operations Forces. Matt was accepted into the Gonzaga University School of Law while deployed overseas.
Matt graduated in the top five percent of his law school class and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Gonzaga Law Review. Matt spent the first five years of his legal career as an attorney in the litigation departments of Paine Hamblen and Witherspoon Kelley, the two largest law firms in Eastern Washington at the time. Matt then spent the next 10 years of his practice running his own law firm, Crotty & Son Law Firm, PLLC. Some of Matt’s current employment discrimination matters can be viewed at: https://crottyandson.com/cases
Matt dedicates the majority of his practice to representing workers in wrongful termination and retaliation lawsuits. Matt litigates cases all over the country on behalf of members of the military who experienced workplace discrimination in violation of the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act (USERRA). Matt’s USERRA work allows him to advocate on behalf of service members ranking from Private to General. Matt’s USERRA endeavors pitted him against some of the largest employers and law firms in the country.
Matt also represents workers in collective and class actions involving violations of the Washington Minimum Wage Act (MWA), the Washington Wage Rebate Act (WRA), and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). With respect to individual cases, Matt litigates cases involving the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Privacy Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the False Claims Act (FCA), the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), the Washington’s Public Record Act (PRA), the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as well as sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In addition to litigating matters on behalf of a plaintiff or defendant, Matt is also willing and able to serve as a neutral mediator for parties seeking to resolve a dispute short of trial. Matt is a very qualified mediator due to his teaching, military, and trial experience, as well as his completion of Pepperdine University’s week-long “Mediating the Litigated Case” seminar.
Lastly, and, most importantly, Matt is a happily married father of three children who enjoys the outdoors and exercising. Matt retired from the Washington Army National Guard in 2016 following a 30-month assignment as the commander of a 350 Soldier intelligence collection and analysis unit.
Representative Work
O’Kell v. Haaland
2:18-cv-279-SAB (E.D. Wash. 2022)
Obtained total verdict and judgment in excess of $2.4 million following a two-week ADEA age discrimination and retaliation trial.
Tsui v. Walmart, Inc.
20-cv-12309-MPK (D. Mass. 2021)
Obtained $10,000,000 USERRA class action settlement and agreement from Walmart to pay up to 30 days of military leave annually.
Huntsman v. Southwest Airlines
3:17-cv-03972-JD (N.D. Cal. 2019)
Obtained USERRA class action settlement valued at $5,800,000 in missed 401(k) contributions, $13,000,000 in unpaid sick leave, and finding from court that “Class Counsel has capably and effectively represented the Class Members’ interests.”
Waite v. Gonzaga University
2:17-cv-00416-SAB (E.D. Wash. 2019)
Successfully achieved a complete defense verdict for Gonzaga University after a four-day jury trial of federal and state discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims seeking $5,000,000 in damages. Local media coverage of this jury verdict is available here.
Hall v. L-3 Technologies, Inc., et. al. 2019 WL 3845460 (E.D. Wash. 2019)
Obtained settlement valued at $2,000,000 in first known USERRA failure to hire discrimination class action lawsuit. New York Times coverage of the case is available here.
Hanson v. Kitsap County, 21 F.Supp.3d 1124 (W.D. Wash. 2014)
Obtained jury verdict and $583,853 judgment which found that Kitsap County willfully violated the client’s rights under USERRA and obtained summary judgment adjudication, in favor of plaintiff, on a USERRA, 38 U.S.C. § 4318, pension claim – – – the first known result regarding such a claim in the USERRA’s history.
Tuten v. United Airlines, Inc., 41 F.Supp.3d 1003 (D. Colo. 2014)
Co-lead counsel for plaintiff in federal USERRA class action resulting in $6.15 million settlement and with the Court stating in written opinion that “the Court is of the view that the results achieved for the Plaintiff class in this case were outstanding, worthy of being emulated by class representatives and counsel in other comparable litigation.”​
Anderson v. U.S. Air Force, 3:13-cv-00265-BLW (D. Idaho 2013)
Represented parents of deceased U.S. Air Force enlisted person in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case. Obtained complete relief on client’s behalf. Information regarding the case is available here.​
Jones v. Marriott Hotel Servs., Inc., 2013 WL 415605 (N.D. Cal. 2013)
Represented and achieved settlement for U.S. Marine Corps reserve officer that Marriott failed to reemploy following employee’s return from military duty. ​
Koch v. CHS, Inc., 2:12-cv-00463-CWD (D. Idaho 2013)
Represented putative class in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action wage and hour case against national corporation. Case resolved shortly after plaintiff moved for collective class certification and summary judgment as to the employee’s FLSA claim.
Zhu v. North Central ESD 171, 2:15-cv-183-JLQ (E.D. Wash. 2016)
Obtained $450,000 jury verdict in retaliatory failure to hire lawsuit and obtained summary judgment adjudication that the defendant violated Washington’s Public Record Act by wrongfully withholding documents.
Allman v. American Airlines, Inc. Pilot Ret. Ben. Plan et al., 1:14-cv-10138-IT (D. Mass. 2017)
Obtained $6,000,000 (+) settlement in USERRA pension benefit class action.
Boyd v. Acro, Inc. et. al. 2-21-00201-13 (Grant Co. Sup. Ct. 2023)
Obtained $530,750.00 jury verdict in sexual harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, and constructive discharge case.