Judge dismisses claim against Graziano

A Richmond judge has thrown out a civil claim against City Council President Kathy C. Graziano, citing overwhelming evidence that she had responded appropriately to allegations of sexual harassment raised by a former council aide.

After a five-hour hearing Wednesday that included testimony from nearly a dozen city officials and employees, Circuit Judge Richard D. Taylor Jr. dismissed the lone claim against Graziano in a civil lawsuit brought by Jennifer M. Walle, former 1st District liaison to Councilman Bruce W. Tyler.

Graziano, whose attorneys had argued that she was protected by the doctrine of sovereign immunity because she was acting in official capacities, said she feels vindicated by the ruling, and she decried the "media circus" that the case created.

"For eight months, I have been the target of character assassination by bizarre and untrue accusations," Graziano said in a statement. "I am glad to put this behind me and get on with my life. I trust City Council will now get on with the business of governing without these distractions."

With Taylor's ruling, only a charge of civil battery against David R. Hathcock, Graziano's 4th District liaison, remains in Walle's lawsuit. No trial date is set.

"Sovereign immunity is tough, and nonelected officials will not have that defense," Walle's attorney, D. Hayden Fisher, said after the hearing.

Walle's lawsuit, filed in February, accused Graziano of intentional infliction of emotional distress stemming from Walle's attempts last summer to report unwanted sexual advances allegedly made by Hathcock on April 21, 2010. Hathcock, who is on leave and retiring from his liaison position Oct. 1, has denied the charges.

In court, Fisher sought to portray Graziano as trying to punish Walle by forcing her to work with Hathcock and by encouraging her to file a harassment complaint against a political rival, Tyler.

Fisher alleged that Graziano had told Walle that she could "either quit or deal with it" and had coached Tyler on ways that Walle could be fired.

But after listening to testimony about three closed-door meetings last summer, Taylor said it was clear that Graziano had been a "passive observer" who helped put Walle in touch with an assortment of city officials to help her.

Defense witnesses, including council Chief of Staff Daisy E. Weaver, Senior Assistant City Attorney Laura Drewry and then-Director of Human Resources R. Tyrone Jackson, described the meetings as focused on Walle's well-being and encouraging her to put her complaints in writing so they could be investigated, in accordance with city policies. Several witnesses said Walle had described her allegations only in general terms and had requested confidentiality.

Graziano "was always concerned about Jennifer's welfare and getting to the heart of the matter," Weaver said.

Graziano testified that she told Walle that her options were limited if she wasn't going to file a complaint. "I told Jennifer she needed to report it. If she was not going to report it, she needed to continue on or find other employment," Graziano said.

Walle never filed a complaint but acknowledged under cross-examination that she had been encouraged to do so. She said tearfully from the witness stand that she did not trust officials to respond appropriately.

"I did not file a written complaint," Walle said. "At the time, I didn't have much faith in anyone."

Several city officials and employees testified that Walle had expressed more concern about ongoing suggestive remarks allegedly made by Tyler than the April 2010 incident involving Hathcock.

However, Walle disputed that, saying that Hathcock's behavior was far more offensive. She said Graziano had urged her in a series of visits to her office to file a complaint against Tyler.

Weaver testified that she temporarily reassigned Walle with her consent after she had expressed discomfort working with Tyler and had signaled that she would file a complaint against him. As part of that arrangement, Walle was instructed to avoid any contact with Tyler and to forward constituent emails to Hathcock, who would follow up for Tyler.

Walle said that even receiving work-related emails from Hathcock was excruciating.

"For someone who has been assaulted by someone, that's more contact than you want to have," Walle said, dabbing tears.

Everette G. Allen Jr., an attorney for Graziano, asked Walle if she had complained to anyone about the arrangement. "I wasn't able to complain to anybody," Walle responded. "I didn't have Mr. Tyler as my boss."

In her lawsuit, Walle claimed that Graziano had advised Tyler "to get rid of" Walle, but Tyler offered a different account from the witness stand.

He said he had been having concerns about Walle's job performance and that Graziano encouraged him to keep detailed records of how she was doing. He said Graziano had asked about the documentation in several subsequent meetings but said he only surmised that she could be suggesting a way to dismiss Walle.

Taylor called the lawsuit's claim overreaching. "It didn't come anywhere near the outright, flat-out allegation here," he said.

The hearing included a brief appearance by Dena Fultz, a South Richmond woman who also has alleged that Hathcock made unwelcome advances against her. Fultz said Graziano visited her home just before Walle's allegations became public in January.

"She suggested (Walle) had emotional issues, including possibly anorexia," Fultz said Graziano told her.

In dismissing the claim against Graziano, Taylor said that even that kind of statement would be insufficient to deny a public official sovereign-immunity protection.

Outside the courtroom, Allen said of Graziano, "You heard the story and, guys, it's simple. Not only did she not commit any intentional tort, she didn't do anything wrong."