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October 16, 2023A consulting firm that has worked extensively with Nikki Haley and her political action committee is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who says that an executive sexually assaulted her, and that other executives failed to take appropriate action and retaliated against her in response.
The firm, ColdSpark, helped Ms. Haley start her advocacy group, Stand for America, and has also provided consulting services for her presidential campaign; its work with her is prominently featured as a “case study” on its website. Stand for America and affiliated entities have paid the firm more than $87,000 this year, and Ms. Haley’s campaign has paid it more than $33,000, according to campaign finance records.
The lawsuit was filed in August in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and was first reported by Politico on Monday.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff went to a restaurant on Dec. 14, 2021, with two of her supervisors — Tyler Hargrave and Ryan Reynolds, both vice presidents at ColdSpark — as well as a founder, Michael DeVanney. She says that after Mr. Hargrave and Mr. DeVanney left the restaurant, Mr. Reynolds groped her under the table.
The lawsuit says the plaintiff, who was an account manager at ColdSpark, reported the assault to Mr. Hargrave the next morning. Mr. Hargrave, it says, “told Plaintiff that Reynolds was a ‘good guy’” and “did not take any remedial action.” It says that Mr. DeVanney was also made aware of the allegations and also did not act.
Jeremy Neuhart, a spokesman for ColdSpark, said that all of the defendants denied the allegations and that the company had not been aware of them until the plaintiff quit. He added that Mr. Hargrave and Mr. Reynolds no longer worked for ColdSpark, and that Mr. DeVanney was not involved with the firm’s work with Ms. Haley or Stand for America.
In a statement to Politico, Mr. Reynolds called the accusations against him “frivolous” and said they had “zero merit.” He added, “The facts will bear that out.”
Ms. Haley’s campaign and Stand for America did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Neither did lawyers for the plaintiff or the individual defendants. Attempts to reach the plaintiff were not successful.
The plaintiff quit her job after ColdSpark continued to require her to work with Mr. Reynolds, according to the lawsuit.
She is suing for monetary damages, accusing ColdSpark of violating the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against her based on sex, retaliating against her for reporting those violations and creating an “abusive and hostile work environment” that effectively forced her to quit. The lawsuit also charges Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Hargrave and Mr. DeVanney with “aiding and abetting” ColdSpark, and Mr. Reynolds with intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
