A vice president with Paramount Pictures Corp. and parent company Paramount Global won a round in court when a judge ruled that a woman who sued him and both entities for alleged sexual harassment must use her true name in future pleadings, or file court papers justifying her preference to remain anonymous.
The plaintiff is currently identified only as Jane Doe in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, which alleges sexual harassment, hostile work environment, negligence, negligent retention, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiff also alleges that the vice president, Patrick Smith, was her supervisor and also disparaged other female employees.
On Wednesday, in addition to the identification ruling, Judge Virginia Keeny also dismissed Doe’s retaliation and gender discrimination causes of action and said that the plaintiff will have to shore up other parts of her complaint against Smith for those allegations to remain part of her lawsuit. Doe was given 60 days to file an amended complaint.
In their court papers, Smith’s attorneys said a plaintiff should be permitted to proceed anonymously only in exceptional cases involving matters of a highly sensitive and personal nature, real danger of physical harm or where the injury litigated against would be incurred as a result of the disclosure of the plaintiff’s identity.
According to the suit filed last July 9, Doe was continuously made to feel “self-conscious, embarrassed, intimidated, dehumanized … and extremely uncomfortable at work each day at work, as a result of (Smith’s) conduct and behavior and defendant … Paramount Pictures’ failure to prevent such conduct.”
Doe was hired in 2017 and reported directly to Smith, who two years later transferred her to XYi Design, a Paramount vendor that provided marketing and design services. While doing work for XYi, Doe continued to be at the Paramount office with the vice president as her supervisor, the suit further contends.
According to Doe, Smith “persistently subjected plaintiff Doe to his intrusive and unwelcome gaze, leering at her body and making inappropriate sexual remarks about her figure. His offensive scrutiny compelled plaintiff to drape a sweater around her waist in a desperate attempt to shield herself from his predatory eyes.”
However, Doe’s efforts were mostly ineffective against Smith’s “relentless” misconduct, the suit alleges. He sent her numerous texts with a sexual and often vulgar tone, including “I really love you, please know that,” the suit states.