A former aide to an ex-Gilead Sciences Inc. COO can proceed as a Jane Doe in her lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed her while she worked for him in his current company, a judge ruled Wednesday.
“Upon review of the moving and opposing arguments in addition to the allegations of the first amended complaint, the court finds that plaintiff has demonstrated that the use of a pseudonym is warranted,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly J. Fujie wrote in rejecting defendant Kevin Young’s claims that the woman’s request to proceed as Jane Doe was “meritless.”
Doe’s claims allege harassment and sexual assault by her employer over a period of years and the disclosure of her identity poses a significant risk of potential personal and professional stigma due to the personal nature of the allegations, according to the judge.
Young’s lawyers, who used Doe’s actual name in their court papers, maintained the plaintiff was obligated to ask the court’s permission before proceeding anonymously and that she did not cite any legal authority allowing her to proceed under a fictitious name.
From 2004-18, Kevin Young worked in an executive role for Gilead Sciences, overseeing several new products, including the first single tablet regimens for HIV treatment. In 2011, he was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an honor bestowed by the British government for leadership and achievement at a national or regional level.
Before joining and eventually retiring from Gilead, Young held posts with U.S. biotech Amgen Inc. and British drugmaker AstraZeneca.
But according to Doe’s lawsuit filed March 13, she was hired in 2018 to manage the bills, bookings, payments, memberships and all administrative tasks that arose at Young’s current company, Properties GB7 LLC.
Soon after Doe took the job, Young allegedly began complimenting her body while also asking about her intimate apparel, grooming habits and her love life, her court papers state.
“Young’s comments devolved to become overtly and graphically sexual and wildly inappropriate,” according to Doe’s court papers.
Young allegedly groped Doe “whenever he felt like it ” and ordered her to wear certain clothes or none at all, to use sex toys and to watch him shower or shower with him, Doe’s court papers state.
“Moreover, when plaintiff failed to expose her private body parts, engage in masturbatory sexual acts or buy raunchy toys to Young’s satisfaction, he would threaten to fire her,” Doe’s court papers allege.
Young also allegedly sexually assaulted and raped Doe, who felt physically or financially coerced into succumbing to his abuses, Doe’s court papers state. Although Young told Doe that he “wouldn’t appreciate it” if she were romantically involved with another man, he ordered her to furnish him with sex escorts, according to Doe’s court papers, which further allege she was constructively discharged from her job.
In a countersuit, Young alleges conspiracy to defraud and breach of contract by Doe. According to Young’s court papers, Doe and Young’s former personal wealth manager, who introduced Doe to Young, were in a personal relationship that Doe maintained had ended by the time she started asking to be hired by Young. Doe said she would register Young in meeting groups and dating sites, such as Tinder, as Young was in his 60s and interested in developing new relationships, Young’s countersuit states.
Doe ultimately convinced Young to hire her part-time and the two eventually began a “personal and ultimately romantic relationship,” the countersuit states. Doe left in December 2021, but was rehired two months later, the countersuit states.
“(Doe) recognized that Young was lonely and an older gentleman who could be taken advantage of,” the countersuit states. “Despite (Doe’s) claims of affection for Young, she did not like him and found him boring, long-winded and difficult.”
On the other hand, Doe knew that Young “in fact cared for her and had a crush on her and she used Young’s affection for her to con and manipulate him out of more and more money,” the countersuit alleges.
Young and GB7 allegedly paid Doe more than $516,000 during a four-year period, an amount he is seeking in damages in the countersuit.
Doe had two other jobs, one as a full-time senior analyst for Advent Software and the other as a part-time fitness instructor at the luxury gym Equinox, so she actually had little time left to perform work for Young and only did so at her convenience, the countersuit states.
Unknown to Young, Doe and his former wealth manager had continued their relationship despite the manager’s statements to the contrary, according to the countersuit, which further states that Doe and the manager ended up in financial debt.
“They were both motivated to obtain additional funds from Young,” the countersuit alleges.
Doe stopped working for Young last August and he ended the personal relationship a month later, but Doe tried to rekindle the romance in November with texts that included a happy birthday wish to Young, the countersuit states.