Judge Robert Sweet. Photo by David Handschuh/NYLJ

A federal judge has dismissed allegations of sexual harassment levied against a former state official and the state agency he worked at, writing that his accuser waived her ability to sue over the claims in an agreement made more than two years ago.

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet of the Southern District of New York wrote in two decisions this week that Lisa Marie Cater, a former state employee, could not levy the claims against the state and Samuel Hoyt, a former Cuomo administration official, because she agreed to forego future legal action in the settlement.

The case provided in large part the impetus for state lawmakers to pass a set of reforms aimed at curbing sexual harassment during last year's legislative session.

Hoyt, a former Assemblyman hired to lead Gov. Andrew Cuomo's economic development efforts in Buffalo, was accused in the lawsuit of sexually harassing Cater between 2015 and 2017. Cater worked at the state Department of Motor Vehicles for part of that time. Hoyt has claimed that their relationship was consensual, while Cater said his behavior was uninvited.

She claimed that Hoyt harassed her in a variety of ways, like sending her explicit photos, attempting to communicate with her at night, and visiting her at home. Cater said when she rebuffed Hoyt's advances, he became “increasingly aggressive” and threatened to use his position to have her fired.

Cater claimed she tried several different avenues to report Hoyt for the alleged harassment. She said she tried to make direct contact with the governor's office and the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, the state's ethics watchdog for lobbyists and public officials. Cater claimed that Hoyt told her he was “too powerful” and in “direct contact with the governor.”

She hired Lindy Korn, a discrimination law attorney in Buffalo, to send Hoyt a demand letter for $350,000 over the claims. Hoyt, instead, offered her $50,000 and asked her to sign an agreement that stated she would not bring future claims against him of discrimination or sexual harassment.

According to Sweet's decision, the agreement specifically said Cater waived “all claims and potential claims of any kind” against Hoyt, including claims for discrimination, harassment or retaliation.

Sweet wrote that since Cater signed the agreement and accepted the payment from Hoyt, her lawsuit didn't hold water.

“Plaintiff ratified the settlement agreement by accepting $50,000 in exchange for waiving her potential claims against Hoyt and agreeing not to disparage him. She then brought this action without first repaying or offering to repay that consideration,” Sweet wrote. “Plaintiff cannot have it both ways.”

Sweet also dismissed other parts of the lawsuit from Cater where she claimed Hoyt used his power as a higher-ranking public worker to intimidate and harass her, such as when he allegedly threatened to have her fired. Sweet said those claims were invalid because Hoyt had no authority over Cater, who worked in a different state agency.

Cater had also sued Empire State Development, a state agency, because she claimed officials knew about the alleged harassment but did nothing to help her. The Cuomo administration has denied those claims.

Sweet dismissed her claims against the agency in a separate decision, in which he said Cater had not provided proof to support the allegations.

“Plaintiff offers only conclusory assertions than an unlawful conspiracy existed and alleges nothing to suggest ESD was part of any such conspiracy,” Sweet wrote. “These broad and conclusory allegations of conspiracy—supported only by her claim her complaints were ignored —comprise precisely the sort of [civil rights law] claim courts have dismissed as implausible.”

Cater had originally also included Cuomo on the lawsuit, but her claims against him were dismissed by Sweet in a decision last year. He wrote in the decision that there was no evidence that showed Cuomo had any direct knowledge of the alleged harassment.

Hoyt served as the regional president of Empire State Development from 2011 until he resigned abruptly in October 2017, one month before Cater filed the lawsuit against him. He was represented by Carrie Cohen and Katie Viggiani from Morrison & Foerster.

Cater is represented by Rachel Allen, an employment attorney with the Derek Smith Law Group in Manhattan. Allen did not immediately return a call for comment on the decision.

Efforts to reach Hoyt for comment were unsuccessful.

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