Lawyer Sued for Sexual Harassment Wins $1.55M for Defamation Counterclaim
A jury is weighing punitive damages after awarding a California lawyer $1.55 million in a defamation counterclaim against the paralegal who sued him for sexual harassment.
Jurors rejected the sexual harassment claim by paralegal Allison Moreno, who had alleged she had sex with Oakland lawyer Thomas Ostly to protect her job, the Recorder reports. She had claimed Ostly fired her when she sought to stop the sexual relationship.
For his part, Ostly had said it was he who ended the relationship with Moreno, and it was because she kept nagging him about his weight, the story says. He said he never fired Moreno, but he did tell her to go home one day because of her belligerent attitude when he reprimanded her about a serious error. He also alleged that Moreno took advantage of their relationship by taking long lunches and shopping online during work hours.
The defamation claim accused Moreno of telling co-workers at a legal clinic where she worked part time that Ostly was a sexual predator.
