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Canadian Woman Wins $30,000 in Sexting Lawsuit

by Amar Toor on February 18, 2011 at 10:00 AM

woman with cell phoneA woman who lost her job after ignoring her boss' sexually explicit text messages has been awarded $30,000 by a Canadian court.

The woman, Lisa McIntosh, worked as a truck driver at an aluminum company in British Columbia, where she was briefly involved in a consensual relationship with Zbigniew Augustynowicz, the company's owner. During the relationship, the two would exchange text messages on a regular basis, but after McIntosh broke up with her boss, the texts turned inappropriate.

Not long after the breakup, Augustynowicz continued to barrage McIntosh with texts that read, "I need a nooner," and "Can I date your daughter?" According to tribunal adjudicator Enid Marion, his texts only became more derogatory as time wore on. And, the more she ignored his advances, the more severely he cut her hours at work.

The company countered that McIntosh was widely regarded as a flirt among her co-workers, and often referred to her male colleague as "boy-toys." The firm also argued that, because she responded to the texts, the messages were part of a "consensual conversation." But the court didn't buy the case, arguing that there was no evidence of McIntosh's flirtatious behavior, and pointing out that she made clear her desire to end the abuse.

Tags: Boss, British Columbia, BritishColumbia, Canada, Cellphones, Court, Harassment, Lawsuit, Sex, Sexting, Texting, Top, Work

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