US casino giant Wynn Resorts Ltd has reached a settlement with nine women who filed a 2019 lawsuit against the company in relation to alleged sexual harassment by the company’s founder and former CEO, Steve Wynn.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that attorneys representing Wynn Resorts filed a settlement notice on Tuesday, declaring that a settlement has now been reached and requesting the lawsuit be dismissed. The amount of the settlement was not revealed and is expected to be sealed by the court.
According to court filings, the nine women – who chose to keep their identities hidden and were referred to as Jane Doe 1 to Jane Doe 9 in the lawsuit – each allege Mr Wynn made unwanted sexual advances towards them while they worked at Wynn Salon and Encore Salon, including asking “personal questions of a sexual nature”, forcing them to massage him in secluded areas such as his office and to massage him near his genitals.
Mr Wynn, now 81, has always denied the allegations but stood down as Wynn Resorts CEO shortly after the story broke in early 2018 and later sold off his entire 12.1% stake in the company.
The case against Wynn Resorts was in 2020 sent to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after the District Court ruled the women’s pleadings were too vague, however the appellate court partially reversed that decision before sending the case back to the District Court.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal noted the appellate court ruling had stated the women “repeatedly expressed a willingness to provide more information, so long as their privacy could be assured,” adding, “while the Judy Does had no automatic right to file an amended complaint, the District Court still should have granted leave to amend when dismissing claims that could be cured with additional facts.”
The settlement comes after Mr Wynn reached a US$10 million settlement with the Nevada Gaming Commission in July that also sees him banned from holding any position of control or authority in any publicly traded company registered with the regulator.
He previously paid what was at the time a secret US$7.5 million settlement to one former Wynn Resorts employee, a manicurist, involved in the allegations levelled against him, while Wynn Resorts paid US$20 million in 2019 for its failure to investigate the claims and take action against its founder.
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