$1 Million Lawsuit on Yoga Guru for Sexual Harassing Apprentice Teacher

According to a $1 million lawsuit, a guru at a yoga center in Manhattan was very twisted, reports the Daily News.

The bombshell Manhattan Supreme Court suit says apprentice teacher Holly Faurot was sexually harassed by the totally unappealing Ruth Lauer-Manenti for years before she was dumped for a new rookie.

Now 35 year-old Faurot of Brooklyn is suing the yoga center, its leaders as well as her guru, claiming that due to the harassment she suffered for years at Jivamukti Yoga Center near Union Square, she was forced into years of therapy. So she never quit? She did make a complaint when it first happened? Sexual harassment lawyers in New York are of the opinion that any more delay would have resulted in the statute of limitations coming into force which would have been Faurot’s fault for taking so long.  

Faurot started at the center in 2009 and left in 2014. During all that time, her guru was 20-year old veteran of Jivamukti, Lauer-Manenti.

Shanahan said that Lauer-Manenti started paying special attention to his client and it started taking a creepy turn in the fall of 2010. That is when the married yoga guru asked if she could stay at Faurot’s apartment in the city so that she could be closer to work. And she said yes? According to details of the suit, she then asked if she could sleep in Faurot’s bed where she “spooned and cuddled” with her student. Why did she allow this to happen?

It should never come to this. The moment someone puts you in a strange situation that anyone would construe as not being part of the normal agreement you need to go right here: sexual-harassment-lawyers. This is of course after you say no in a polite manner. If you are not threatened and you oblige that person like Faurot did is this really sexually harassment? Why did you accept that person’s proposal? Most grown adults would construe that in this situation that you should have had the maturity and courage to simply reject this person’s proposal.

But if you did reject that person’s proposal and the strange sexual encounters and situations keep coming from this person then you need legal help and you need to notify that person’s superiors. You need to record what happened and when it happened. That website is amazing. It has linked many people in America with a legal representative. In this case it would be a sexually harassment lawyer. This digital resource tool was designed to allow the weak to be strong and to fight back against the aggressors and bullies in our society.

How does someone allow this to happen if they do not want it to happen?

Court papers say that Lauer-Manenti’s conduct gradually escalated – apart from grabbing Faurot’s breasts and trying to get between her legs during 25 additional sleepovers, the guru asked her apprentice to examine her teacher in the staff bathroom to see if she had inserted a tampon. Lauer-Manenti also persuaded her apprentice to pose for nude photos in positions that were sexually suggestive.

According to the suit, in the fall of 2013, Lauer-Manenti stopped paying attention to Faurot when she “lost interest” and shifted her focus to another young apprentice. Frustrated, Faurot quit her job – and, the suit says, the higher-ups at the center were not exactly bothered when she made a complaint about the grabby guru.

Human Rights Law against Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination

Sexual harassment and sex discrimination in the workplace is prohibited by the Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). 

According to sexual harassment lawyers in New York, unwelcome verbal, non-verbal, visual, or physical conduct that is sexual in nature or based on someone’s sex that is pervasive or severe and creates a hostile working environment or affects working conditions. 

Getting a Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Started

If you believe you have just cause for a legal claim of harassment, the first thing you should is contact a sexual harassment attorney in New York. You will be scheduled for an initial consultation with a legal representative or a paralegal. It is important that you bring hard copies of any evidence you may have to your consultation. During that meeting, you will be required to give a very detailed recitation of the facts, including:

• Where and when the harassment took place
• Pertaining to the Lauer-Manenti and Faurot case, if you volunteered to bring this person closer into your life and seemed to enjoy the attention you were receiving
• Parties that were involved
• Details regarding the harassment
• Whether there were incidences of criminal conduct
• Complete review of evidence, such as phone records, texts, photographs, emails, and other hard evidence

After your meeting, your NYC sexual harassment lawyer will draft a proposed complaint and send it to the defendant for them to review. This means that a copy of what the lawsuit would look is sent to the harasser and the company you worked for. They are given a chance to review the proposed lawsuit and decide if they want to litigate or discuss a settlement.

Whether you want to settle or take your sexual harassment claim to court, you will need the services of a New York sexual harassment lawyer. It is best to hire one as soon as possible so that you can get the process underway without delay. Give us a call at USAttorneys, we are here for you.