Stones River Country Club faces sexual harassment lawsuit
Two former Stones River County Club employees accuse management of sexual harassment, according to their recently filed lawsuit.
Their lawsuit seeks a jury trial and $4.5 million for each of the female plaintiffs from the club and former general manager Tim Coleman, according to the 24-page complaint filed Jan. 31 in Rutherford County Chancery Court.
Both plaintiffs had worked for the country club starting in 2014 until each resigned in 2022 after club officials declined to respond to the initial complaints against Coleman, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs have representation from attorneys Jason Lee and Burrow Lee of Mt. Juliet.
"After knowing about the actions of Defendant Tim Coleman and receiving numerous reports about such conduct from multiple women, Stones River (Country Club officials) decided to keep him as the head manager of Stones River through the end of 2022," the lawsuit states. "Stones River willfully and intentionally stuck their collective heads in the sand, knowing of the disgusting behavior of Tim Coleman that was verified by numerous reports and witnesses."
The Daily News Journal sought a comment from the country club, but a staff member said there would be no response to the lawsuit at this time.
A country club webpage on Tuesday afternoon for the staff still showed Coleman as the general manager, but he's no longer employed there, the staff member said.
Although not named as a defendant, the lawsuit also accused a club board leader of exposing himself to both plaintiffs while they were working.
"He then approached both Plaintiffs in a threatening way and told them that they better not tell his wife," the lawsuit said. The document further accuses the club board leader of sending one of the plaintiffs nude photos of himself and trying to get her "to have sex with him in his office."
Former general manager has multiple accusations
The lawsuit provides more than a dozen accusations against the general manager, including:
Touching plaintiffs in a sexual way multiple times without permission.
Sexual comments, sexual jokes and questioning their attire.
Asking about sexual activity with club members
Asking for nude photos from the plaintiffs, including an offer of $50 for one picture
Forcibly removing a garment of one plaintiff to expose her while at work.
According to the lawsuit, Coleman had faced prior sexual harassment complaints.
"These have been ignored by Stones River Country Club," the lawsuit said, and this lack of action allowed "him to continue to prey on women and sexually harass and sexually assault women at Stones River County Club."
Lawsuit says plaintiffs faced retaliation
The document adds that the general manager declined to give one of the plaintiffs a raise or bonus because she went on maternity leave for the birth of her children.
The same plaintiff who took maternity leave, according to the lawsuit, experienced health conditions caused by the actions that including sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, crying, shame and humiliation.
The second plaintiff has dealt with similar stressful emotions and faced having work hours cut after making a complaint with the club's accounting manager, according to the lawsuit.
The club and the general manager violated the Tennessee Human Rights Act through sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, retaliation, pregnancy discrimination and sexual discrimination, the lawsuit said.
The breakdown of what each plaintiff seeks from the defendants is $3 million in punitive damages and $1.5 million in compensatory damages.
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription for all dnj.com stories.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Sex harassment lawsuit filed against Stones River Country Club
