In Russo v. Tuttnauer USA Company Limited et al, 21-cv-1720 (JMA)(AYS), 2025 WL 1604063 (E.D.N.Y. June 6, 2025), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, under Federal Rule of Procedure 50, on plaintiff’s hostile work environment sexual harassment claims asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law.
The court summarized the evidence on these claims as follows:
At trial, Plaintiff testified that throughout her employment at Tuttnauer up to her termination in 2018, she was subject to a toxic work environment characterized by numerous sexist emails and disturbing flyers, crude comments about women, and other occurrences that turned the workplace into a toxic environment. (Tr. 780-83, 999-1000, 1165-66). As corporate secretary, Plaintiff took and distributed meeting minutes, and as controller, she oversaw accounts receivables and payables. (Tr. 766-68). Defendant Robert Basile was a Senior Vice President at Tuttnauer, and Defendant Kevin Connors was the CFO. (Tr. 53-54, 61-62.) While Plaintiff was on the HR team with Defendant Basile and others, Plaintiff was never trained in HR, and employees and supervisors, including Basile, were never formally trained in reporting or investigating employment discrimination. (Tr. 74-75, 82-85, 316-17, 774-76).
Several co-workers testified that Basile knew that supervisor Tim Krause’s office wall was papered with pornography, his computer and laptop screensaver depicted naked women, and that Krause played explicit sex videos in front of other employees in his office. (Tr. 268-69, 281, 524-27, 539-40, 548, 1515, 1517-20). While the employee handbook identified Basile as responsible for addressing harassment complaints, numerous witnesses testified that Basile actively participated in inappropriate sexual discussions (primarily in the lunchroom) and did nothing to address situations when others contributed to the hostile work environment by inappropriately commenting on the physical appearance of female employees. (Tr. 265-67, 276-77, 286-90, 291-93, 489, 492-93, 512, 533, 541-42, 578, 588).
Plaintiff testified that sexually inappropriate and offensive emails were circulated to Tuttnauer employees on a daily basis, and several such emails were entered into evidence at trial. (Tr. 780; Pl.’s Ex. 43, 46, 47, 48, 63, 85.) Furthermore, Plaintiff testified that sexually offensive images and notes were slid under her office door, including naked women engaging in sexual activity, a naked man with an erect penis, notes about women being forbidden from entering certain areas, sexual jokes involving condoms and tampons, and messages naming Plaintiff and other female employees with crude and expletive language targeting these employees. (Tr. 783-84, 1165-66; Pl.’s Ex. 20, 24, 33, 34, 44.)
Plaintiff further testified that about three to four times per week, Defendant Connors would inappropriately stare and makes gestures towards her. (Tr. 999, 1346.) Plaintiff testified that Defendant Connors would “come behind me and … squeeze my shoulders[.] … He would try to put my hand in his private area[.] … Come from behind me, rub against me, rub in front of me.” (Tr. 1347.) Aware that Plaintiff was diabetic, Connors made sexual jokes by telling Plaintiff: “I know what you need, protein. I have protein right here for you.” (Tr. 1347-48.) On her birthday, Connors told Plaintiff, “I have a present for you, it’s right here,” and then proceeded to grab his crotch. (Tr. 1348). Both Plaintiff and co-worker Alice Mary Gruninger testified that on one occasion, Defendant Connors walked out of the bathroom with his penis hanging out of his pants and walked into Plaintiff’s office, after which Plaintiff yelled at Connors to get out of her office. (Tr. 559-60, 791.) Plaintiff testified that she once told Basile about the hostile work environment, right after the incident in which Connors walked into her office with his penis out. (Tr. 778-80, 997.) Plaintiff mentioned the offensive pictures that someone had placed under her door and told Basile that “this man is going to get us into a lot of trouble someday.” (Tr. 779-80, 1396). Plaintiff testified that Basile agreed but never followed up on this complaint. (Tr. 778-80).
Plaintiff testified that she complained about the hostile work environment verbally and in a written letter to Ran Tuttnauer, who was then CEO of Tuttnauer, Ltd., the parent company of Tuttnauer USA. (Tr. 777-78, 790-806, 1097-98; Pl.’s Ex. 37.) Despite these complaints, Plaintiff testified that the sexual harassment continued, with sexually explicit images and notes continuously placed in her office and Defendant Connors continuing to make sexually offensive remarks to her. (Tr. 809-26.)
Plaintiff testified that the hostile work environment culminated in Defendant Connors’ attempt to sexually assault her in her office on January 26, 2018. (Tr. 827-28.) Plaintiff testified that as she was working with Connors in her office, he “grabbed [her] arms, pulled them behind [her] head, and pushed [her] down on [her] desk.” (Tr. 828.) Plaintiff testified that Defendant Connors grabbed her neck and was pressing on her airways, causing her to yell. (Id.) Plaintiff pulled away from Connors, fled her office, and went home. (Id.) Plaintiff was terminated on February 1, 2018, five days after this alleged incident with Defendant Connors. (Tr. 829-30.) On the day she was fired, someone attached a copy of an invoice to Plaintiff’s computer screen with a scribbled print stating: “Suck my cock.”
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Testimony at trial revealed that in early 2018, after Plaintiff complained to Defendant Basile about the lack of toilet paper in the women’s bathroom, she received a note under her office door reading: “What is four inches long two inches wide and drives barbara Out of her fucking mind that damn empty toilet paper roll Not cock hahahahahaha.” (Pl.’s Ex. 32; Tr. 825-27). Plaintiff testified that this note was slid under her office door in early 2018 after she had made complaints to Defendant Basile that there was never any toilet paper in the women’s bathroom. (Tr. 825-827.) Plaintiff further testified that she did not complain to anyone else other than Defendant Basile about the toilet paper in the women’s bathroom. (Tr. 827.) Since Plaintiff testified that she only complained to Defendant Basile about the toilet paper shortage, the jury could have reasonably concluded that Defendant Basile left that message for the Plaintiff. Furthermore, since the message was similar in tone and style to the other sexist notes and images that Plaintiff received at work both before and after August 15, 2017, the jury could reasonably conclude that this message was part of a continuing violation and furthered the hostile work environment experienced by Plaintiff at Tuttnauer.
Applying the law, the court concluded that “there was extensive testimony and evidence presented at trial regarding the overall hostile work environment at Tuttnauer and Defendant Basile’s actions and inactions in the years prior to the statutory limitation date, including Defendant Basile’s failure to investigate Plaintiff’s complaints regarding sexually offensive images and Defendant Connor’s behavior” which warranted denial of defendant’s Rule 50 motion.