Lawyer wants sexual harassment payment returned, says plaintiff violated nondisclosure deal
Oregon lawyer Ross Day says he has no obligation to pay a $140,000 sexual harassment settlement—and he wants his first payment of $2,500 returned.
In a pending lawsuit (PDF), Day says he doesn’t have to pay Andrea Meyer, a former employee at his Tigard law firm, because she violated a nondisclosure agreement, the Oregonian reports.
Day’s suit cites two alleged violations of the agreement.
The first: Meyer spoke about the settlement before the beginning of a creditor’s meeting in his bankruptcy case, filed after he made the first $2,500 payment. Meyer brought a companion to the creditor’s meeting, a third party with no legal right to know about the existence or terms of the settlement, Day’s suit says.
The second: Meyer filed an action against Day in U.S. Bankruptcy Court that “goes to great lengths to restate and relitigate the facts and issues” that were resolved by the settlement, the suit says. Meyer’s bankruptcy filing says Day’s debt to her is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
Meyer’s original sexual harassment suit had claimed Day used a fake name to send her emails about his sexual fantasies, according to the Oregonian article. She also had alleged Day sent her a link to the video, the “Girlfriend Activation System,” about a sexual technique.
Day did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement agreement. The Oregonian refers to Day as a “prominent lawyer” who was co-author of an Oregon property rights referendum called Ballot Measure 37.
