CHARLESTON – A woman says she was sexually harassed by a co-worker and later wrongfully terminated by Todd Judy Ford.
Amanda Kelly filed her complaint January 20 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Transportation Network III doing business as Todd Judy Ford East, Transportation Network V doing business as Todd Judy Ford and Todd Judy.
According to the complaint, Kelly was hired to work at the defendants’ Patrick Street dealership in October 2020. On October 28, 2020, she says co-worker Rodney Stanley approached her while she was working and requested that she show him her genitalia, using a common nickname for it. She says she refused and told Stanley the request was inappropriate and unwelcome.
“In response, Mr. Stanley unzipped his pants and pulled out his penis while asking plaintiff, ‘Impressive, isn’t it?’” the complaint states. “Mr. Stanley then advised plaintiff that he had slept with over 200 women.”
Kelly says she told Stanley to put his penis away and told him his conduct was outrageous and unwelcome. She also noted there was a surveillance camera nearby. She says Stanley told her the cameras were not operational.
That evening, Kelly says she reported the sexual harassment to Chris Boord, who she thought was a manager but later learned was just a co-worker. She also told him Stanley was falsely telling other employees she had exposed her genitals to him. Two days later, she says she complained to another manager named John Brown that Stanley was continuing to spread rumors that she had exposed herself to him and that she had propositioned him for sex.
On November 2, 2020, Kelly asked for help from sales manager Chris DeLaney on a potential vehicle sale. She says DeLaney was aware of the complaints she had made and that he refused to help her, using some objective language to describe her.
The next day, the defendants’ human resources department told the company to review its harassment policy.
“During the ‘meeting,’ defendants emphasized to its employees that all harassment is required to be reported within seven days or the alleged victim was subject to automatic and immediate termination,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff was further advised to report the incidents to Todd Judy or the human resources department.”
Kelly says she also was told Stanley had been the subject of more than 30 previous sexual harassment complaints but no action had been taken against him.
Kelly says she told Brown she feared retaliation if she reported the incidents again, but she also feared termination if she didn’t report them. She eventually decided to report the misconduct and later met with Judy, who told her he had investigated the matter and couldn’t confirm her claims.
“Judy further advised plaintiff that he did not believe she was working out and that he was going to have to fire her,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff repeatedly advised defendant Judy that her work performance had been impacted by the sexual harassment and that she was aware that defendant Stanley had been the subject of numerous sexual harassment complaints in the past.
“In response, defendant Judy finally agreed not to fire plaintiff but demanded that she agree to take a sales position at one of defendants’ dealerships in another city.”
When Kelly requested assurance the prior sexual harassment would not happen again and that she would not be subjected to retaliation, she says no such assurances were given.
On January 20, 2021, Kelly was late for her scheduled shift. On her drive to work, she says she called her psychiatrist and therapist to request they provide a note explaining her mental health conditions and disabilities, including C-PTSD that had caused her to be late.
After she arrived at work, she was called into a meeting with Judy. Kelly told him of her mental health conditions that arose from being abused by her spouse and being a domestic violence survivor.
“Defendants failed to engage in any interactive process with plaintiff regarding her disability and any reasonable accommodations that may be necessary,” the complaint states. “Rather, Mr. Judy stated that he had a severance check for her and stated that she needed to sign a document to receive the money.
“Plaintiff was provided a single page document, and Mr. Judy instructed plaintiff ‘to sign here and you’ll be good to go.’”
Kelly says she never was provided the actual severance agreement and was not advised of her rights or the rights she would give up by signing the purported agreement.
She signed the page to receive the money, which she says was money to which she already was entitled. She says she later received her last paycheck that included a deduction for the amount of the alleged severance pay.
Kelly accuses the defendants of sexual harassment, hostile work environment, wrongful discharge, retaliation, reprisal, disability discrimination and failure to accommodate, all of which are violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act. She also accuses them of violating the state Wage Payment and Collections Act.
She seeks compensatory damages, including past and future lost wages, general damages for humiliation, mental pain and suffering, emotional distress and embarrassment. She also seeks punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs, pre- and post-judgment interests and other relief.
Kelly is being represented by Phillip Estep of Estep Entsminger Law Group in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-50