The following is a press release issued by Kyle Todd, Esq. of Kyle Todd, P.C., a law firm out of Los Angeles, California. This press release describes the circumstances surrounding a civil lawsuit.
Accusations are from the lawsuit and have not been proven in a court of law. Any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Ms. Montana Edgar, a former Cashier at Friedman’s Home Improvement in Ukiah, is claiming that she faced sexual battery and harassment, then was forced to quit by her employer after making a complaint about her assailant. In her complaint, case number SCV-269995, filed in the Sonoma County Superior Court on January 18, 2022, Edgar claims she was harassed by David King, another employee of the company.
In the lawsuit, Edgar states that shortly after her employment began around March of 2020, King began approaching her from behind her register, uncomfortably close to her back, brushing up against her body including her buttocks. She alleges King would also stroke Ms. Edgar’s arm and rub her back to get her attention, and that each time King approached her at her register she felt unable to move or leave because King would box her in at the middle of the U-shaped register.
The lawsuit claims that despite her efforts to avoid King, Ms. Edgar was forced to interact with him, culminating in an incident wherein King came up to Ms. Edgar from behind, and trapped her by pushing her body against the counter. King then allegedly proceeded to gyrate his body and grind up against Ms. Edgar, moving his hips in and out, his genitals making contact with her buttocks while he spoke with a customer.
Ms. Edgar allegedly reported Kings behavior to a manager that day, and two other supervisors the following day. The lawsuit alleges Ms. Edgar also reported to the human resources department that King had sexually harassed other female employees. Allegedly, Friedman’s Home Improvement employees threatened Ms. Edgar with termination when she informed them she was considering filing a police report.
Faced with management’s tepid investigation, which left Ms. Edgar still forced to work with King, the lawsuit claims Ms. Edgar went on medical leave. Unable to face further harassment from management, Ms. Edgar had no choice but to resign before the expiration of her medical leave.
