10th Circuit rejects harassment charges, revives premises liability claim

The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all New Mexico employers) recently affirmed the summary dismissal of a sexual harassment discrimination lawsuit against a pipeline construction company and a pipeline operator's successor-in-interest but sent the related premises liability claim back to the lower court.

Facts

Jessica Adams, an employee on C3 Pipeline Construction, Inc.’s pipeline construction crew, alleged three C3 workers sexually harassed her while they were working on a project in New Mexico.

C3 provided construction and maintenance services under a contract with Alpha Crude Connector, LLC (ACC) on an ACC pipeline system in New Mexico and Texas. Adams sued C3 and Plains Defendants, ACC’s corporate successors, for sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New Mexico Human Rights Act (NMHRA), and related state tort (wrongful act) law claims.

Specifically, Adams alleged three male C3 employees required her to perform sexual favors for them to keep her job, sent her offensive and unwanted pornographic images, made sexually explicit comments, and engaged in unwanted touching of her. In 2019, a jury awarded her $55 million for her claims against C3, which was lowered to approximately $20,000 by the U.S. district judge. Before the trial, the court had dismissed her claims against ACC, determining the company didn’t control her working conditions because she was employed by C3.

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