The City of San Diego is facing a new sexual harrasment lawsuit—this time against an assistant city attorney.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, claims that Assistant City Attorney Daniel Bamberg sent inappropriate text messages to San Diego Deputy City Attorney Molly Hoot, touched and asked her for sex three years ago. Hoot says the behavior continued for three years.
The Office of the City Attorney is same office charged with defending former Mayor Bob Filner against multiple sexual harassment complaints in 2013.
“There is some emails, text messages, and there will be my client's testimony which will be very compelling,” Hoot’s attorney, Josh Gruenberg told NBC 7.
The claim states that for three years, Bamberg sexually harassed Hoot and advised her not to complain about Filner putting her in the now infamous headlock and asking her out for drinks.
Hoot and Bamberg worked side by side in the City Attorney's office.
Gruenberg says his client complained about the unwanted advances from Bamberg two years earlier to equal employment investigators.
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“Nothing was done, no one interceded on her behalf there was no investigation, disciplinary action, no counseling,” Gruenberg said.
City Attorney spokesperson Gerry Braun emailed the following response to the claim:
"At management's request, an investigative panel drawn from outside the office was convened to determine the facts. Mr. Bamberg was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. These steps are required by law and do not reflect any prejudgment as to the facts."
Gruenberg told NBC 7 that Hoot was reluctant to file the suit but did so only after she was allegedly passed over for a promotion for rejecting Bamberg.
“Her job was the most important thing to her in her life and she was friendly with this supervisor. He was a father figure to her so she had a lot of issues to balance,” Gruenberg said.
Gruenberg represented a Filner accuser and was awarded the largest settlement among those complaints against the former Mayor—$667,000.
Hoot is currently continuing to work at the city attorney's office.
