American Apparel Outlines Graphic Allegations Against Founder Dov Charney In Recent Court Filings

(Michael Kalus)

After getting fired from American Apparel in December for “alleged misconduct and violations of company policy,” former CEO and founder Dov Charney is not going down without a fight. The company is now responding to a recent slew of defamations lawsuits he’s filed against it, outlining some pretty graphic allegations in recent court filings.

American Apparel’s new leadership is trying to push back against defamation lawsuits Charney filed both in May and then last week, reports the Los Angeles Times, by filing court documents that detail a veritable laundry list of alleged shady practices by the former CEO.

Among the allegations included in the anti-SLAPP motion filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, as cited by the LAT:

…Charney told accounting employees that they were “Filipino pigs … with your faces in the trough”; mimed holding a shotgun to an employee’s forehead; stored footage on company equipment of himself having sex with models and employees; and sent sexually graphic messages to employees. The filing also alleged Charney tried to destroy the evidence, telling employees to delete “naughty” messages.

American Apparel didn’t comment beyond what was in the filing, but said in the documents that Charney should be prevented from filing more lawsuits because the evidence laid out shows he was fired for good cause, and that his lawsuits are “frivolous.”

His attorneys, on the other hand, say American Apparel is “desperately trying to distort public attention to the fact that Mr. Charney’s firing was illegal.”

“The company has knowledge that much of this information and allegations are completely false,” his attorney said in a statement.

The defamation suit Charney filed in May claims the company and its chairwoman Colleen Brown falsely informed American Apparel employees that he’d agreed in writing to stay away from the company completely, forever. In Friday’s lawsuit, Charney says the company and a former board member lied to keep him from getting enough votes to reclaim control of American Apparel.

Brown said in a statement included in Friday’s filling that Charney’s actions and behavior led to nearly $10 million in litigation costs through September 2014.

In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into the circumstances leading up to Charney’s departure.

American Apparel makes graphic allegations about former CEO [Los Angeles Times]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist