A law firm partner sued last month for sexual harassment fired back at the junior lawyer who brought the case, accusing her of fabricating her claims and being obsessed with him.
The partner, Juan Monteverde, and his law firm, Faruqi & Faruqi, filed a counterclaim in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday, accusing the junior lawyer, Alexandra Marchuk, of defamation and damaging his and the firm’s reputation. The lawsuit detailed the firm’s version of events related to the relationship between the two.
In a lurid complaint filed last month, Ms. Marchuk said that Mr. Monteverde repeatedly made improper comments and unwanted sexual advances toward her. In one instance, she said, he forcibly had sex with her in the firm’s offices.
The counterclaim denied those accusations. “In fact, however, there was no sexual intercourse, forced or otherwise; there was no sexual harassment, and there were no complaints,†said the complaint. “Marchuk’s claims are false.â€
Last month’s lawsuit had grabbed the attention of the New York legal profession. Faruqi & Faruqi is a well-known plaintiffs’ firm that has made a name for itself aggressively filing shareholder lawsuits against companies related to executive pay as well as mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Monteverde, for his part, has helped pioneer a relatively new type of plaintiffs’ action called “say on pay†lawsuits that relate to Dodd-Frank reforms over executive pay.
The counterclaim jointly filed by Mr. Monteverde and his firm is equally as sensational as the original complaint, describing in excruciating detail several instances of sexual contact between Ms. Marchuk and Mr. Monteverde.
The first encounter, as described in the counterclaim, took place after Ms. Marchuk accompanied Mr. Monteverde down to Wilmington for a hearing at the Delaware Court of Chancery, according to the counterclaim. That evening, back in New York, the two went to LexBar, a Midtown watering hole.
“Once at LexBar, both Marhuck and Monteverde drank,†said the countersuit. “After some time at the bar and several drinks, both engaged in consensual kissing and fondling.â€
They continued their “consensual conduct†on the sidewalk, the countersuit said.
“Marchuk volunteered that if Monteverde wanted to have sex with her, she would not say no,†it continued. “But Monteverde said no and hailed a taxi for Marchuk, at which point they parted ways. The next day, Monteverde told Marchuk that they both had too much to drink and it could not happen again.â€
The lawsuit portrays Ms. Marchuk as consumed by Mr. Monteverde. She told him that her mother was making a sculpture for him similar to the one in her office, which he had complimented, the complaint said. At the firm’s Christmas party, according to the lawsuit, “Marchuk virtually shadowed Monteverde.â€
It was at the Christmas party in 2010 that Ms. Marchuk claims in her complaint that Mr. Monteverde “quickly and forcefully had sex with her.†The counterclaim denies this and presents a different version of events. At a bar after the office party, Mr. Monteverde and Ms. Marchuk were seen kissing and fondling one other. At 3 a.m., the two went back to the law firm’s offices, the complaint said. The sexual contact that transpired was entirely consensual, according to the countersuit.
Less than a week later, Ms. Marchuk resigned. The firm did not know about Ms. Marchuk’s claim until receiving a letter from her lawyer in October 2012. When she filed her complaint last month, she sent it to the media, Faruqi & Faruqi clients and Mr. Monteverde’s wife.
“We are aware that the simple and easy course of least resistance is to quell the controversy and suggest that Mr. Monteverde find employment elsewhere,†Lubna M. Faruqi and Nadeem Faruqi, the firm’s sister and brother co-founders of the firm, said in a statement. “Although he exercised very poor judgment and has been disciplined by F&F, we are convinced that he did not commit sexual harassment, that our firm is not a hostile workplace, and that he does not deserve to have his promising future forever tarnished by letting these allegations go unanswered.â€
Harry W. Lipman, a lawyer for Ms. Marchuk, did not immediately return a request for comment.
