A jury Thursday ordered a billionaire hologram producer and his companies to pay more than $4.5 million to a former employee who accused him of sexually harassing her in the workplace.
The Los Angeles Superior Court panel deliberated for about three hours before finding Alki David and two of his companies, Hologram USA and FilmOn.TV., liable to Chasity Jones on most of her claims. In awarding $4.59 million, the jury also found that the defendants acted with malice, fraud or oppression, triggering a second phase of trial to be held Friday to determine if Jones should be awarded punitive damages.
Lisa Bloom, the lawyer for the 42-year-old Jones, said after the verdict she was proud to represent the plaintiff, who she said had waited years for this day. Bloom had recommended an award of more than $10 million.
Defense attorney Ellyn Garofalo said she was disappointed with the verdict, but noted that the jury found some of Jones’ claims to be untrue. She said she does not believe the evidence supports the amount of damages awarded.
In her final argument earlier Thursday, Bloom said David’s outburst in front of them during his testimony on Tuesday summed up the kind of person he is in the workplace. David verbally attacked Jones and left the courtroom under the escort of a deputy sheriff.
“We know who Alki David is and he doesn’t care, he blatantly disregarded the rights of women like Chastity Jones,” Bloom said.
Jones testified earlier in the trial that David inappropriately touched her and showed her a pornographic video on her work computer. She also said the 51-year-old David brought a male stripper into the workplace to celebrate the birthday of one of his executives. She said she found the stripper’s appearance offensive and considered it sexual harassment.
Bloom said Jones will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder for life because of David’s alleged mistreatment of the plaintiff.
But Garofalo told jurors that Jones never made any allegations against David until after she was fired and actually praised him in a birthday wish and in social media. Jones also denied in a declaration that David harassed her, Garofalo said.
Garofalo said in her opening statement that her client’s business was a “wild and outrageous place.” But she said Thursday that regardless of the businessman’s work environment, none of that was evidence he ever sexually harassed Jones.
Although Jones said she confided with a co-worker, Mary Rizzo, that she was being harassed by David, the plaintiff never called Rizzo to testify on her behalf, Garofalo said.
Garofalo said that while she was not endorsing David’s conduct in the courtroom, it was not evidence that her client assaulted Jones.
Jurors began deliberating after final arguments concluded.
Jones worked for Hologram USA and FilmOn.TV. David was behind the hologram technology that brought slain rapper Tupac Shakur to Coachella in 2012 and saw the late Michael Jackson moonwalk at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards.
Jones and another former sales accountant, Elizabeth Taylor, sued David in February 2017. Taylor’s allegations against the Beverly Hills resident and heir to a Coca-Cola bottling fortune will be tried later.
Bloom said Jones is a single mom who was drawn to David’s FilmOn.TV in January 2015 because she liked the idea of making commissions to better support her 15-year-old daughter. She later became friends with a co-worker, Rizzo, who would also later sue David on similar grounds, Bloom said.
Not long after Jones took the job, David came up to her from behind, placed his hands on her shoulders and told her to follow him on Instagram, Bloom said. Jones pulled away and said no, but David repeated the behavior a few days later, Bloom alleged.
Bloom told jurors that on another occasion, David grabbed Taylor by the ankles and held her upside down, exposing her underwear. Jones, disturbed by what she saw, wondered to herself if the same thing could happen to her, the attorney said.
Tired of the atmosphere, Jones left for a short time to work in the medical field, but returned at the recommendation of Rizzo, who said things had improved in the workplace, Bloom said. Jones also looked forward to getting a raise and a large commission for a project she began working on at Hologram USA during her second stint with David in October 2015, Bloom said.
David also ordered Jones to watch an adult-oriented video, “Two Girls, One Cup,” on her computer, leaving her feeling “demeaned,” Bloom said.
But Garofalo downplayed the impact of the video said it was unreasonable to believe that someone who allegedly was sexually harassed by a boss would return to work for the same person again.
Jones was fired in November 2016, her attorney said.
Rizzo also sued David, but reached a settlement with her former boss.
On Tuesday, David sparred with Bloom during her cross-examination of him.
“I think you are an abhorrent woman,” David told Bloom at one point. “Do something with your life, woman.”