HOUSTON — A former employee of a Houston-based financial services company alleges she faced retaliation for complaining about gender discrimination.
Ann Deaton filed a complaint July 12 in Harris County District Court against U.S. Capital Advisors (USCA) LLC and David Harris alleging disparagement and other claims.
According to Deaton's suit, she was a senior managing director for USCA for more than 12 years and was among the top one percent of female financial advisors in the U.S. She alleges that her business partner, Harris, and USCA treated her differently because of her gender. Deaton claims she complained about the discrimination in January of 2022 and was terminated in February of 2022.
She further claims that after her termination, Harris made false statements about her to USCA clients in order to injure her reputation and career. She claims those statements included Harris telling clients she acted "erratic" and that he was concerned about her mental and physical health. Deaton alleges those false statements have caused significant damage to her career and her standing in the industry. She further alleges she has lost business, faced damage to her reputation and has also lost future business.
Deaton seeks monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. She is represented by Todd Slobin of Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP in Houston.
Harris County District Court case number 2022-41766