A former State Farm General Insurance Co. agent has reached a settlement with the insurer in a lawsuit in which he alleged he was retaliated against and stalked by a manager who was upset that he resisted her romantic advances.
The accord was reached during a mandatory settlement conference between plaintiff Carl Winston and State Farm that was held Tuesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Nicholas F. Daum. No terms were divulged.
In previous court papers, attorneys for State Farm and Winston’s alleged harasser denied the plaintiff’s allegations and said the claims were, among other things, barred by the statute of limitations.
In his lawsuit filed in June 2024, Winston said he and the agency administrative leader were in a brief relationship, but that he ended it when he found out she was using company money to pay for their personal dinners and trips.
Winston also contends that before his State Farm contract was terminated in 2023, he was a longtime top producer and that the company did nothing when he complained about her conduct.
“The woman was a powerful State Farm employee and told Winston that she was untouchable due to her legacy status at the company,” the suit stated.
Subsequent to the end of the relationship, the woman began making false accusations against Winston that he was mismanaging his agency, according to the complaint.
“She vowed that she would `get (his) Black (posterior)’ unless he resumed their relationship,” the suit further alleged, while adding that the woman often called Winston’s wife and gave her details of his other alleged extramarital relationships.
Winston was fired in March 2023, the same month in which management questioned him at length regarding a customer’s accusations against him, the suit stated. Winston’s alleged harasser continued to taunt him after his termination and told him, “Payback is a (profanity),” according to the suit.