Fox Rothschild, Former Morristown Attorney Seek Dismissal of Sexual Misconduct Claims
A former Fox Rothschild lawyer accused by a onetime paralegal of sexual harassment and attempted rape denied wrongdoing, contending that the claims under New York state law are invalid and claims under New Jersey law came too late.
February 18, 2020 at 02:26 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
*This story has been updated with a corrected headline: Siminoff was counsel at the firm.
A former Fox Rothschild lawyer who was accused by a onetime paralegal of sexual harassment and attempted rape wants the woman's New York federal lawsuit thrown out, contending that her claims under New York state law are invalid and her claims under New Jersey law came too late.
Fox Rothschild made similar arguments in the firm's own motion to dismiss the case against it and Ian Siminoff, who worked in the firm's Morristown office as counsel until hours after Stephanie Jones filed her lawsuit last December.
Siminoff also asserted that the two had a consensual relationship until Jones was fired by the firm in 2017.
"Over a nearly four-year period, Mr. Siminoff and plaintiff Stephanie Jones had a consensual relationship during which they exchanged text messages, engaged in consensual physical contact, and routinely met for meals and drinks, including at the insistence of plaintiff," Paduano & Weintraub attorneys Meredith Cavallaro and Courtney Fain said in the filing.
"Now, more than two years after the termination of her employment, and primarily in reliance on an obviously cherry-picked sample of the thousands of text messages she exchanged with Mr. Siminoff, plaintiff tries to recast her consensual relationship with Mr. Siminoff and brings baseless claims of sexual harassment," they continued.
Jones, 58, alleged "pervasive unwanted sexual comments, advances, requests and other similar conduct" at the firm, including an attempted rape in her December lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
But Siminoff said the complaint against him should be dismissed in its entirety because all of Jones' claims under both New Jersey and New York state law do not hold up. Fox Rothschild, who is represented by attorneys from Fisher & Phillips, also said that most of the claims against the firm were equally flawed. And both parties asserted that the case does not belong in the Southern District of New York.
Siminoff and the firm both emphasized that claims under New York state and city human rights laws do not apply because Jones worked exclusively in New Jersey. They also said that claims under a New Jersey statute, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, are time-barred, as are tort claims under New York and New Jersey state law for assault and battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress , and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Both parties also pushed for a blanket dismissal on the grounds that there was no indication in the complaint that Jones experienced any discrimination or harm in New York, while Fox Rothschild suggested that a transfer to New Jersey would be an appropriate remedy.
Jones' attorney, New York lawyer Tyrone Blackburn, responded Tuesday by noting the filings made it clear Fox Rothschild's attorneys were working "hand in hand" with Siminoff's counsel, despite the fact the firm announced his termination.
Blackburn added that he would be able to prove that the claims were not time-barred, as his client reached out to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission well before the statute of limitations expired, and that Jones worked out of the New York office and alongside New York partners.
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