SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A judge has dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by an ex-MTS employee against former San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.
In a tentative ruling on Aug. 7, Superior Court Judge Matthew Braner wrote that the plaintiff, Grecia Figueroa, destroyed evidence, including text messages and a voice recording to Fletcher. The case was officially dismissed during a Friday morning motions hearing.
Figueroa filed the case in March 2023, alleging sexual harassment, failure to prevent sexual harassment and retaliation, sexual assault and battery, as well as whistleblower retaliation.
The Metropolitan Transit System was also named as a defendant, since Fletcher was the chair at the time.
Figueroa claimed Fletcher began to stalk her on Instagram in May 2021 and later sexually assaulted her.
The lawsuit alleged that on May 12, 2022, Fletcher asked Figueroa to visit him at his hotel. It stated that once at the hotel in a stairwell, Fletcher “quickly asked to kiss Ms. Figueroa..." but “she rejected his advance, pointing out that he was married and she had no intention of having anything more than a conversation.”
The lawsuit further alleged that Fletcher sexually assaulted Figueroa on May 13 that same year. The suit also claimed that Figueroa was abruptly terminated from MTS on the same day Fletcher announced his run for California State Senate.
Fletcher has denied the allegations, but he has admitted to having “consensual interactions with someone outside my marriage.”
The court dismissed MTS from the civil case on Aug. 1.
In his tentative ruling, Braner wrote that the plaintiff “engaged in a systematic and sustained effort to delay production of evidence and obstruct the discovery process.”
"The litany of discovery abuses perpetrated by Plaintiff in this case warrant termination of her lawsuit... Plaintiff engaged in a pattern of preserving only the evidence she believed was helpful to her case, while actively deleting, or knowingly allowing to be deleted, evidence that was likely detrimental to her claims," the ruling states.
Figueroa told ABC 10News anchor Melissa Mecija that they will likely appeal the decision.
Below, you'll find a copy of the tentative ruling document outlining the judge's decision:
Documents: Case vs. Fletcher dismissed by Pat Mueller on Scribd
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This is a developing story. ABC 10News has assigned a crew to this story to gather more information. Stay with us as our team of journalists works to gather the latest information.
