A former La Puente city councilwoman has settled her lawsuit against the city in which she alleged the city did not do enough when she complained of sexual harassment by the city manager.
Lawyers for ex-Councilwoman Violeta Lewis filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis on Tuesday informing her that the case was resolved. No terms were divulged.
In her suit filed in May 2021 and twice amended, Lewis alleged discrimination and harassment based on gender and disability, retaliation, assault, failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process and failure to investigate, prevent and correct state Fair Housing and Employment violations. Lewis was first elected in April 2012 and was replaced by the rest of the council in February 2022 after a series of absences.
In their court papers, attorneys for the San Gabriel Valley community denied any liability on the part of the city and said Lewis’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations. The city’s lawyers also maintained the city had immunity from her allegations.
According to the suit, the city hired Robert Lindsey as a transition city manager in October 2018, when Lewis was serving as mayor. His duties included assisting the plaintiff in developing policies, goals and objectives for the city and to keep Lewis informed about important community issues, the suit states.
Several months after being hired, Lindsey began sexually harassing Lewis and “aggressively pursued a sexual relationship” with her, the suit alleges. He also made sexually oriented comments and stared at Lewis in an offensive, sexual manner, according to the suit.
Lindsey told Lewis that he loved her and said, “If we ran the world, it would be perfect,” the suit stated.
After Lewis came forward and complained, the city “immediately began a coverup, starting with a sham investigation designed to sweep the matter under the rug and to create the illusion of a proper investigation, which it was not,” the suit stated.
Lewis eventually filed a complaint against Lindsey when an investigation into her allegations was completed in September 2020, the suit states. Lindsey is still the city manager.