Tesla loses bid to maneuver sexual harassment lawsuit to arbitration

Could 24 (Reuters) - A California state decide has rejected Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) bid to send a lawsuit alleging widespread sexual harassment at the company's flagship meeting plant to private arbitration, permitting it to maneuver ahead in courtroom.

California Superior Courtroom Judge Stephen Kaus in Oakland denied Tesla's motion to compel arbitration in a short order on Monday.

In a written opinion released on Tuesday, Kaus mentioned Tesla had improperly pressured the plaintiff, Jessica Barraza, to signal an arbitration agreement after she had already stop her earlier job.

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"Principally, Barraza was ambushed," the judge wrote.

Barraza within the lawsuit filed in November claims employees and supervisors on the Fremont, California plant routinely made lewd comments and gestures to feminine workers, and that the corporate failed to deal with complaints.

The lawsuit is one of a minimum of seven pending in California state court docket to make related claims in opposition to Tesla. Kaus is presiding over five extra of those cases.

Tesla didn't immediately reply to a request for touch upon Tuesday.

David Lowe, a lawyer for Barraza, called the choice "a victory for public accountability."

"Because of this ruling... Tesla will probably be judged by a jury of Ms. Barraza's peers in a public courtroom," Lowe said in a statement.

Along with the pending sexual harassment claims, Tesla is going through separate lawsuits accusing it of tolerating widespread race discrimination at its plants. A California decide final month awarded $15 million to a Black former factory employee who said he was subjected to racist slurs and graffiti from coworkers. read extra

Tesla has mentioned it doesn't tolerate harassment and has disciplined and fired employees who engaged in misconduct.

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Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien

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