Sexual Assault Claims Subject To Arbitration

The New York Appellate Division for the First Judicial Department has held that claims against a prominent legal recruiting firm must be arbitrated

In the underlying complaint, plaintiff alleges various causes of action against defendants, all of them torts, including an alleged sexual assault that occurred while she was employed by defendant Major, Lindsey & Africa between 2005 and 2009. Plaintiff and Major, Lindsey & Africa signed an agreement in 2005 that, among other things, required disputes between the parties to be submitted to arbitration with limited carve outs not applied here. By its plain terms, the arbitration agreement covers plaintiff’s claims.

The court correctly concluded that the arbitration clause in this case is not invalidated by the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (EFAA), as the causes of action in the complaint all accrued prior to the effective date of the EFAA (9 USC §§ 401, 402, as added by Pub L 117-90, 136 US Stat 26; see O’Sullivan v Jacaranda Club, LLC, 224 AD3d 629, 629-630 [1st Dept 2024]). The enactment of the New York State Adult Survivors Act (see CPLR 214-j) does not change this analysis. While the Adult Survivors Act revived a certain class of otherwise potentially time-barred causes of action, it did not change the fact that the causes of action accrued prior to the enactment of the EFAA (see Global Fin. Corp., 93 NY2d 525, 529 [1999]; see e.g. S.H. v Diocese of Brooklyn, 205 AD3d 180, 191 [2d Dept 2022])

USA Herald reported on a related dispute

A lawsuit accusing Major Lindsey & Africa of defamation has taken another turn, with former employee Sharon Mahn filing a motion to disqualify Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP from defending the recruiter in her $75 million federal suit.

Mahn’s motion, submitted Friday in the Southern District of New York, argues that three Smith Gambrell attorneys are key witnesses to determine liability. She alleged the attorneys “literally lied” in prior litigation, making their testimony critical to assess the alleged misrepresentations.

The contentious history between Mahn and Major Lindsey began in 2009, when the recruiter fired her and later accused her of trading trade secrets for monetary kickbacks. That dispute ended in arbitration, awarding Major Lindsey $2.9 million, which Mahn, who declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2022, has not paid, according to court records.

Mahn’s legal battles expanded in 2022 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, with her bankruptcy trustee suing Major Lindsey for negligence. The suit accused the firm of fostering a misogynistic culture where Mahn alleged she had been groped by a colleague. Major Lindsey moved to arbitrate the claims, citing prior agreements, and the state Supreme Court ruled in its favor, a decision Mahn is appealing.

(Mike Frisch)