Who stalked whom? Ex-Schulte associate and his fiancee claim ex-girlfriend harassed them
A former associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel is firing back against a former girlfriend who claimed in a lawsuit that he was emotionally and physically abusive.
The ex-girlfriend, Angela Kovalesky, claimed in a lawsuit filed last month that lawyer Samir Tabar threatened her with a kitchen knife and tracked her by placing a GPS dog-tracking device in her handbag. Now Tabar has filed an answer and counterclaims that allege Kovalesky made baseless claims that caused him to lose his job, harassed him, attacked him in a hotel room and destroyed his laptop and two cellphones. In addition, Tabar’s fiancée, Scarlett Etienne (also known as Scarlet Hauck), filed suit against Kovalesky, alleging cyberstalking, harassment and interference with her career as a DJ. Above the Law and the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) covered the new allegations.
“Kovalesky even attempted to extort Tabar,” Tabar’s counterclaim says, “telling him in May 2013, that, unless he paid her the sum of $1 million and broke up with his fiancée, Etienne, Kovalesky would ‘disrupt’ and ‘destroy’ Tabar’s life. When Tabar refused to accept her demands, Kovalesky followed through on her threats.”
Kovalesky’s lawyer, James Ingoglia, provided this statement to the Am Law Daily: “While it is admirable that Ms. Etienne/Hauck has decided to stand by her man, it is unfortunate that she has decided to do so by the filing of a meritless companion suit riddled with false allegations against Ms. Kovalesky, the real victim here. Any problems that Ms. Etienne suffered as a result of her relationship with Mr. Tabar are a result of Mr. Tabar and his misconduct. Ms. Kovalesky never had any direct contacts with Ms. Etienne, aside from a brief meeting in 2012 when Mr. Tabar presented her to Ms. Kovalesky as the ‘girlfriend’ of his brother. The allegations that Ms. Kovalesky actively stalked Ms. Etienne online via social media are a complete fiction. Ms. Kovalesky only learned Ms. Etienne was Mr. Tabar’s ‘fiancée’ long after the relationship ended. Once the full evidence is presented in court, the damages Mr. Tabar inflicted, and continues to inflict, on Ms. Kovalesky will be evident for all to see.”
