Reno sexual harassment lawsuit: Women move to kick Karl Hall off case

Two women suing the city of Reno for sexual harassment are asking a federal judge to kick City Attorney Karl Hall off the case, arguing he has a conflict of interest and again accusing him of bungling the investigation into their original complaints.

Hall's office is defending the city against the women's lawsuit, but their lawyer argues Hall was such a key player in the investigation of their initial complaints that the city should hire someone else to handle the lawsuit.

The new court documents include the first public statements made by the women and reveal for the first time the identity of the third woman who participated in the complaints against former Reno City Manager Andrew Clinger.

The women's initial allegations that Clinger created a hostile, sexually charged work environment led to his termination in September 2016. An initial investigation by an independent Reno lawyer hired by Hall found no violations of the city's sexual harassment policy, but was later deemed flawed.

The Reno City Council hired another lawyer to conduct a second investigation, which found at least one woman was the victim of a hostile work environment. The second investigation, however, could not substantiate claims Clinger acted with a sexual intent or carried on an affair with a coworker.

The three women at the center of the complaint resigned, arguing the city did nothing to protect them from retaliation suffered after coming forward with their concerns.

Former communications director Deanna Gescheider and former assistant to the city manager Maureen McKissick sued the city in August. In new court documents, the third woman, Brianna Wolf, said she also intends to file a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit.

Wolf was hired as a part-time employee to help McKissick manage the rewrite of the city's master plan, which will ultimately govern where and how the city will grow.

The lawsuit could be costly for the city, which has already spent $225,000 investigating the complaints. Unfruitful settlement negotiations earlier this year centered on a $1.8 million demand from the women's lawyer.

Lawyer for the women argues city attorney is a witness

In his latest court filing, Mark Mausert, the lawyer for the three women, renewed his accusations that Hall mismanaged the two investigations in an effort to protect Clinger.

Mausert listed 19 ways he believes Hall bungled the complaints, including that Hall told Clinger the name of one woman who had lodged a complaint against him. Mausert also said Hall failed to inform the Reno City Council of the initial investigation into the complaints, minimized the women's concerns and tried to force them to return to a workplace that remained openly hostile to them.

Mausert also objected to the $228,000 severance package awarded to Clinger, which he said was a signal the council and Hall condoned his behavior.

As a result of Hall's involvement in the handling of the initial complaints, Mausert is asking a judge to remove him from the case.

"To a considerable extent, this case is the direct result of Mr. Hall’s actions and statements," Mausert wrote.

"City Attorney Karl Hall is a central figure in this case," Mausert added. "He will be a witness."

In an earlier interview, Hall said he would not personally handle the city's defense against the lawsuit, and assigned the case to Deputy City Attorney William Cooper.

In his response to Mausert's motion, Cooper argued Hall has no conflict of interest and that Mausert's accusations Hall mishandled the investigations amounted to "a half-baked conclusion based upon inadmissible and incompetent hearsay, speculation and conjecture."

More details emerge about the harassment at city hall

The court filing also includes the women's accounts of the harassment they say they endured while working at the city in lengthy declarations submitted in support of Mausert's claims.

Gescheider said Clinger asked her and another female manager to download a phone app that would automatically destroy messages they sent each other.

She said Clinger made the request after Assistant Police Chief Jason Soto told the executive team that text messages they sent each other on their private phones could be considered a public record.

Clinger used the app to send Gescheider mundane messages such as "good morning" as well as messages that made her feel uncomfortable such as "your skirt is distracting," Gescheider said.

Soto said he can't comment on a pending lawsuit, but added that he has always strongly believed that city business should be conducted on city-issued cellphones so there is no question about transparency.

"It's been my stance since Day One that department heads and city officials should have city-issued cellphones," he said.

Gescheider went on to describe feeling "undermined, humiliated, intimidated, disrespected and sexualized" when Clinger rubbed her leg during a staff meeting. She also said Clinger touched her neck when describing to another coworker that "when Deanna gets really angry she turns red right here."

Gescheider said she didn't want to make a sexual harassment complaint. Rather, her initial complaint involved her fear of retaliation for reporting what she believed was an ethical violation by another city employee. Another manager, however, who had witnessed some of Clinger's behavior toward her alerted human resources about it.

During the initial investigation, Gescheider said the lawyer hired by Hall seemed to "be blaming me for Mr. Clinger's misconduct."

In her declaration, Wolf said that shortly after she was hired by the city she overheard a romantic interaction between Clinger and another female manager at city hall after working hours. Although she was bothered by the incident, she didn't feel comfortable reporting it immediately.

She ultimately confided in McKissick who persuaded her to make a formal complaint to human resources. Wolf said she was assured by the human resources director that her identity would remain confidential. But shortly after she filed her complaint, Hall notified Clinger and disclosed her identity, she said.

After Wolf reported the incident, she and McKissick were retaliated against and became the victims of a hostile working environment created by the female manager and Clinger, they said.