A judge has ruled that default proceedings can begin against a Hollywood production company that is being sued by a woman who alleges she was forced to resign from her job as an executive assistant to the CEO in 2023 due to his alleged harassment and antisemitism.
On Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter A. Hernandez paved the way for a possible default against WestWorld Productions Inc. to start by striking its answer previously filed regarding plaintiff Jesseca Harvey’s complaint. In the answer, the company denied Harvey’s allegations and asked that judgment be entered in its favor.
Hernandez’s ruling comes four months after the same judge granted an attorney’s request to withdraw her representation of both WestWorld and CEO Yuri Spiro. The attorney cited “irreconcilable differences” between her and Spiro.
In court papers filed with Hernandez on Nov. 6, Harvey’s attorneys state that no replacement attorney or law firm has been in contact with them claiming to represent WestWorld or Spiro and that striking WestWorld’s answer was appropriate.
According to her suit, Harvey was hired in April 2022 as Spiro’s executive assistant. Harvey worked more than 50 hours weekly “under the close scrutiny and explicit discretion” of Spiro, who “incessantly reached out to her at all times of the day, instructing her to schedule meetings and phone calls, conduct building tours and fulfill various assignments, the suit alleges.
During the entirety of her employment with Spiro, Harvey “endured a barrage of relentless sexual innuendos and racist comments, plunging her into profound emotional distress,” according to her suit.
On one occasion, Spiro rubbed his hands together and told Harvey, “You’re as stubborn as a virgin during her first time,” the suit further alleges.
Spiro made antisemitic comments to Harvey, including telling her and a Mercedes-Benz car salesman that he wanted to change the vehicle’s emblem to a swastika, the suit states.
Harvey resigned “due to the intolerable working conditions,” according to the suit filed in March 2024 that includes allegations of harassment and various state Labor Code allegations. She seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.