SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for Tim Ballard say he did not sexually harass or assault any of the six women who have accused him of misconduct.
In a recent court filing, Ballard’s defense team states it will not issue a full response to the accusations against him until each of the plaintiffs publicly identify themselves and their allegations with proper context.
At first, each of the six women sought anonymity. Four of the six women appeared publicly for the first time at a press conference in November. Two of the six women have yet to reveal their identities.
Five of the six women joined the first lawsuit. Another woman and her husband filed a second case, separately.
Attorneys for the women say they will each come forward when they are ready.
“What we as a group have been through and experienced personally in the same company has not just been painful for us. We know it’s horrifying for many of you, too,” said plaintiff Sasha Hightower.
Ballard’s team also stated some of the evidence being presented against him was illegally obtained by his executive assistant Celeste Borys.
“Plaintiffs’ counsel came into possession of this information, some of which is clearly marked on its face as privileged, and instead of returning it, used it in litigation and published it... Mr. Ballard’s email account is password-protected and can be accessed only by those who know (i) his personal email address; and (ii) his password... He did not authorize (Borys) to access his email account for any purpose other than for her work as his executive assistant.”
Ballard’s team also accused the plaintiffs of “larding up” the lawsuit “with salacious and irrelevant accusations.” They asked for all “impertinent and immaterial” accusations to be stricken.
“The handling of these complaints seemed more aimed at smearing Mr. Ballard in the press than about prosecuting the lawsuits.”
In another lawsuit, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes was accused of improperly using his office to silence critics of OUR. The lawsuit against Reyes was dropped shortly after Reyes announced he would not be seeking reelection and that he would be launching a criminal investigation into Ballard and OUR.
FOX 13 News asked Reyes’ personal attorney, Joseph Pia, if the case was settled. So far, he has not responded