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Lawyer Accused Of Forcing Sex On Subordinate Insists He Was Too Drunk To Get It Up
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 3, 2013
Modified Apr 3, 2013
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Juan Monteverde, who claims he "could not get an erection."
By
John Del Signore
Published Apr 3, 2013
Modified Apr 3, 2013
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A partner at the Wall Street law firm Faruqi & Faruqi was sued in March by a former associate who claims he forced sex upon her and repeatedly sexually harassed her during her time at the firm. Among the many allegations levied in the lawsuit, partner Juan Monteverde is accused of "quickly, forcefully, and painfully" forcing himself upon Alexandra Marchuk on the floor of his office after the firm's holiday party in December 2011. But yesterday Monteverde's high-profile lawyers hit back at Marchuk with a $15 million lawsuit arguing that Monteverde was far too flaccid to do any of that.
Marchuk's lawsuit falls short of accusing Monteverde of rape, and no criminal charges were filed. She quit the firm shortly after the incident, and her lawsuit claims she "suffered from continuing bouts of depression, anxiety, anger and guilt." Monteverde—whose nickname at the firm is Don Juan—says he had a "brief consensual sexual encounter" with Marchuk once (on a different occasion) and after that he "made it clear that it could not happen again." But his counter-suit alleges that Marchuk would not let it go, and threw herself at him, practically dragging him back to his office after the holiday party, whereupon she took off her clothes, laid down on the carpet, and beckoned Monteverde hither.
According to the counter-suit, "Monteverde, who was inebriated, got on top of her with his clothes still on and his pants around his ankles. He could not get an erection. After 15-20 seconds, and with no penetration, Monteverde rolled off of her. Marchuk then told Monteverde to sit on the couch where she performed oral sex on him. Monteverde did not resist." This differs radically from Marchuk's lawsuit, which alleges that Monteverde threw her to the floor...
...and quickly, forcefully, and painfully had sex with her. Suffering discomfort and not wanting to continue having sex with him, Ms. Marchuk implored Mr. Monteverde to stop, but he disregarded her pleas and continued having sex with her. After he finished, Ms. Marchuk had left a large bloodstain on Mr. Monteverde’s carpet. Seeing that Ms. Marchuk was emotionally and physically traumatized by his aggressive conduct, Mr. Monteverde immediately directed her not to tell anyone what he had done.
Marchuk also accuses Monteverde of making lots of sexually inappropriate comments in the workplace, including puerile double entendres about wholesaler BJ's. On another occasion, the lawsuit alleges that Monteverde "lewdly commented on Ms. Marchuk’s body in front of other F&F attorneys. When Mr. Monteverde offered Ms. Marchuk a binder from within his office, another F&F associate asked for one as well. Mr. Monteverde crassly joked that the other associate might get better office supplies if his body looked like Ms. Marchuk’s body."
And so on and so forth, he said/she said. Marchuk seeks $2 million and punitive damages that she believes to be at least $5 million. Monteverde's lawyers claims, "We are doing the right and fair thing by fighting back against these false allegations to insure that the truth prevails." As droll Above the Law blog puts it, "Discovery is going to be FUN in this case."
Tagged
alexandra marchuk
juan monteverde
lawsuits
lawyers
sexual harassment
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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