Moët Hennessy Countersues Former Employee Over Sexual Harassment Claims

(Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via AP)

Moët Hennessy, the beverage arm of French luxury conglomerate LVMH, is seeking more than €50,000 (US$57,413) in damages from a former employee who accused upper management of sexual harassment, The Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

The lawsuit has been filed in Paris court against Maria Gasparovic, the former chief of staff to Moët Hennessy’s global head of distribution, Jean-Marc Lacave. In a series of LinkedIn posts, Gasparovic claimed she was fired four months after reporting her superiors for gender discrimination. The posts detailed several instances of alleged harassment, including an incident in which Lacave told  Gasparovic that she needed “anti-seduction training” to qualify for a promotion. Gasparovic is currently seeking €1.3 million ($1.52 million) in damages and compensation from the company on the grounds of gender discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful dismissal in employment court.

Moët Hennessy has denied the allegations, claiming that Gasparovic was fired for “gross misconduct.”

“She wants to settle scores. She doesn’t want to alert other women. This is staged, high-level aggression,” Moët Hennessy lawyer Loic Henroit told the court on Monday, per The Financial Times. “There is nothing abusive in Moët Hennessy’s behavior.”

In a statement published in July, Moët Hennessy CEO Jean-Jacques Guiony accused Gasparovic of harboring “considerable resentment” against the company. Guiony claimed that the former chief of staff attempted to claim a job position that did not exist at the time, and retaliated against the company after the position was nixed due to budgetary restraints.

Moët Hennessy contends that it has taken great strides toward gender parity in recent years, including the appointment of women to “critical” roles, including CFO, EVP of Human Resources and new regional president for Asia.

In a cease and desist letter seen by The Financial Times, Moët Hennessy reportedly wrote to Gasparovic: “You cannot present yourself as a whistleblower when you have exploited for your personal benefit, for several years, the same facts that you publicly claim to have reported.”

The company is entangled in a separate lawsuit involving Mark Stead, Gasparovic’s partner and Moët Hennessy’s former Chief Operating Officer. Stead claims to have accompanied Gasparovic to HR meetings to complain about the atmosphere of gender discrimination within the company. According to Stead, he was subsequently fired over alleged expense abuses. He is now filing a suit for wrongful dismissal.

Last month, Claims Journal reported that Moët Hennessy filed a €135,000 ($155,000) suit against Stead over breach of contract. The company claims that Stead signed an NDA following his departure, binding him to strict confidentiality and numerous non-disparagement clauses. Moët Hennessy alleges that Stead broke his NDA by leaking information to news outlet La Lettre pertaining to the company’s handling of the sexual harassment claims.

Stead’s lawyer denied the assertion in court, arguing that the countersuit was a “ploy” intended to punish his support for Gasparovic, per the Claims Journal.

Several executives have left the company following Gasparovic’s complaint, including Jean-Marc Lacave, her former boss, CEO Philippe Schaus and human resources director Chantal Gaemperle.