Case details
Female officer not retaliated against, defense claimed
SUMMARY
$0
Amount
Verdict-Defendant
Result type
Not present
Ruling
KEYWORDS
emotional distress, mental, psychological
FACTS
In 2005, plaintiff Christine Greer, a lesbian police officer, received a text from one of her supervisors, Sergeant Richard Gonsalves. She claimed that the text message included a picture of Gonsalves’ genitals. She also claimed that Gonsalves began to make inappropriate sexual advances toward her. Greer complained about the alleged sexual harassment from Gonsalves, but she claimed that nothing was done about it. Greer sued Gonsalves and her employer, the city of El Cajon, and the matter settled out of court in 2015. The city and Gonsalves adamantly denied the allegations, and they did not admit any liability in the settlement of that lawsuit. After a long absence, Greer returned to work. She claimed that because of the litigation with Gonsalves, she faced discrimination based upon her sexual orientation and was passed over for promotion. Greer also claimed that she was sexually harassed by Gonsalves and another sergeant, Anthony Kolombatovic, who was also her supervisor. In addition, she claimed that the city retaliated against her based upon her reporting the sexual harassment and that it discriminated against her based upon her sexual orientation. Greer again sued Gonsalves and the city of El Cajon. This time, she also sued Kolombatovic. Greer alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted sexual harassment, sexual orientation discrimination and retaliation. Greer claimed that when she returned to work, there were incidents where she had to cross paths with Gonsalves and that she felt intimidated by Gonsalves’ mere presence at the police department as a result of the previous lawsuit. She also claimed that she attended a baseball game with Kolombatovic, while off-duty, in May 2016 and that after the game, Kolombatovic had sex with a woman in her house and then sent a nude photo of the woman to her. Greer claimed that she confronted Kolombatovic about the incident and that after the confrontation, Kolombatovic gave her an unfavorable performance review and she was denied a promotion in retaliation. Defense counsel disputed Greer’s allegations and argued that the reason Greer was not chosen for promotion was based solely upon her low ranking and test scores. Counsel also argued that Gonsalves’ conduct did not amount to sexual harassment and that Greer participated in the conduct on the night of the baseball game, which was a social event outside of the workplace. Defense counsel file a motion for non-suit, and the court granted the motion as to the claims against Gonsalves only., Greer claimed that she suffered a loss of earnings as a result of being denied a promotion. She also claimed she suffered residual emotional distress. Greer sought recovery of lost earnings and damages for her emotional pain and suffering.
COURT
Superior Court of San Diego County, San Diego, CA
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