Barnes & Noble Inc. alleged in a court filing Tuesday that Demos Parneros, its former chief executive, was justifiably fired in early July because he sexually harassed a female employee, bullied other staffers and undermined the potential sale of the book retailer to an unidentified party earlier this year.
In August, Parneros, who didn’t receive severance pay, filed a complaint stating that he had been fired “without warning or justification” and that his reputation was tarnished because the bookseller created the impression that he had “engaged in serious sexual misconduct.” Parneros denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
In its response to Parneros’s complaint, Barnes & Noble BKS, +2.73% said that the former CEO twice “inappropriately touched a female subordinate and, during the second incident, he made an advance and used sexual language.” The bookseller said that following Parneros’s firing, it “has received additional complaints about Parneros’s inappropriate behavior toward women at Barnes & Noble.”
In a statement, Parneros denied that he had sexually harassed anyone and rejected the allegation that he had undermined the potential sale of the company. He also denied bullying anyone. “These false allegations are nothing more than an effort to tarnish my reputation and punish me for seeking justice,” he said.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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