Summary: A heated sexual harassment trial ended on Friday with claims that the defendant was both a family man and a deceptive liar.
According to Litigation Daily, a peculiar sexual harassment trial against a Wall Street stock trader finally ended on Friday. During the closing arguments, Benjamin Wey was accused of being a liar unable to feel remorse, and was hailed as a doting husband and father.
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Hanna Bouveng, a 25-year-old Swedish national, sued Wey, 43, and his company, New York Global Group, in July of 2014. Bouveng argued that Wey persuaded her into engaging in a sexual relationship with him when she was an intern from 2013-2014. When she ended the relationship, she argues she was fired.
Wey was well known in the business world for connecting Chinese companies with U.S. advisers and investors by helping them obtain stock listings through reverse mergers, a controversial process. According to Wikipedia, the process involves a private company’s acquisition of a public company to avoid the lengthy process required to go public. Wey, according to his company’s site, is a financier and expert on China who advises governments and Fortune 500 companies. The site also states he is a journalist and civil rights advocate.
David Ratner of Morelli Alters Ratner represents Bouveng. Dentons
On the last day of trial, Colton stated that both parties were at fault. He said, “There will be, and are, no winners in this case.”
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In an attempt to discredit Bouveng, Colton argued she was a party girl whose job performance suffered due to her constant clubbing. He argued that Wey and Bouveng never had sex, and that Bouveng’s story changed over time. For example, Bouveng apparently first stated that she and Wey spent a night together at a hotel, but later said it was two nights, after being presented with a bill that showed a two-night stay. Wey argued that he was the only one that stayed in the room.
Colton also attempted to show that Wey was a devoted husband. He argued that when Wey considered renting an apartment for Bouveng to help her out, he spoke to his wife about it first. “There’s no dispute that he told her about the apartment,” he commented. Colton also argued that Wey would not have done so if he was having an affair, and that there were legitimate reasons to fire Bouveng.
Wey also allegedly posted articles online about Bouvent that called her a drug dealer and a prostitute. In response to these actions, Colton argued that these statements were not defamatory because they did not cause any true damage to her. In support of this argument, Colton showed the jury pictures of Bouveng smiling and having fun with her friends after the statements were posted on the Internet.
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Bouveng’s attorney argued that Wey forced Bouveng to have sex with him so that she could keep her job. “Force is using your position as the boss to make an employee do something she doesn’t want to do,” Ratner argued. Ratner has also stated that Wey was a habitual liar and a narcissist. She said, “He doesn’t tell the truth about anything.”
As for the online statements, Ratner argued that these were defamation per se. “What he’s done is destroy her reputation.” She said that Bouveng “lost her ambition [and] lost her joy” because of Wey’s actions.
In closing, Ratner asked for $25 million in punitive damages for each of the five claims that were brought against Wey. According to the New York Daily News, the jury returned a verdict for $18 million.
Source: Litigation Daily
Photo credit: New York Post, Twitter (Ratner), dentons.com (Colton, Meyerhoff)