A Brooklyn judge put a temporary halt on a sexual-harassment lawsuit against American Apparel founder Dov Charney and ordered a hearing on whether the suit should be permanently stayed.
Stuart Slotnick, Charney’s lawyer, said in court papers that Irene Morales was bound by an agreement that all disputes would go to arbitration.
Morales sued Charney and American Apparel in Brooklyn Supreme Court for more than $250 million, claiming he turned her into a virtual sex slave while she worked at the firm.
Slotnick said Morales “brought this action after making a number of extortion-like threats to expose the company to a threatened avalanche of litigation and negative publicity.”
He asked Justice Bert Bunyan to sanction Morales for bringing “frivolous litigation.”
Morales’ lawyer, Eric Baum, said the arbitration agreement is “improper and unenforceable.”