Marr defends management record, says year-old lawsuit claims are baseless…
Sorry to be late posting this, but...
State Senate candidate Chris Marr denies allegations that he and other managers at a local auto dealership ignored, for years, the sexual harassment of a saleswoman by male colleagues.
In a lawsuit filed last year, former Spokane Lincoln-Mercury saleswoman Dawn Fowler said that she was subjected to frequent harassment and discrimination by co-workers while selling cars at the dealership from 1997 to April 2005. At the time, Marr was part-owner, vice president and then president of the dealership.
After six months of legal skirmishing and arbitration, in which public access to documents is severely restricted, the company settled Fowler's claim late last year for an undisclosed amount. The case was closed in January.
In court documents, Fowler said she repeatedly complained to managers but that they – including Marr – did nothing to stop it.
Not true, Marr said in interviews Friday.
"I would categorically deny that it was anything that was brought to the attention of managers," he said.
As a manager and a business owner, he said, he's always had zero tolerance for sexual harassment. He said he was dragged into the suit simply because he was upper management.