A woman who had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Teamsters Local 150 in California, and had rejected a pretrial settlement, has been left with no damages after trial.  The jury found that Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Jim Tobin did engage in unwanted harassing conduct towardt the employee, Lisa Beauchamp.  However, because the alleged harassing conduct occurred before the statute of limitations deadline, Beauchamp is not entitled to any damages.

The lawsuit had alleged that Tobin created a sexually hostile workplace.   So called "office girls" were often required to sit on his lap, and he often made inappropriate sexual comments and even physical contact directed at the plaintiff.

Tobin and his attorney did offer a pretrial settlement, which Beauchamp rejected.  According to a juror, there were photographs of Tobin with women from the office that did suggest that his behavior contributed to a sexually hostile workplace.  However, because the conduct occurred before the statute of limitations deadline, Beauchamp was not eligible for any compensation.

The 11 woman, one-man jury, however, failed to reach a decision about whether Teamsters Local 150 was liable for the harassment.  A mistrial was declared on that aspect of the case.

Unless a victim moves quickly to file a complaint of sexual harassment, a California sexual harassment lawyer may not be able to help.  Under California's law, a victim must file a complaint of sexual harassment with the government before filing a civil lawsuit.  These procedures can be extremely complex and it is critical that you meet all deadlines and statutes of limitations or, as in this case, you may lose your ability to recover compensation for your damages.