Man Gets $1-Million Award in Sexual Harassment Case : Courts: Ruling against spa company’s top financial officer is believed to be first such verdict against a woman.

A Los Angeles jury has awarded more than $1 million in damages to a man who said he was sexually harassed “on a daily basis” by a female chief financial officer of a spa manufacturer in Pomona where he worked for six years.

Attorney Gloria Allred, whose firm handled the case, said the verdict probably is the first in favor of a man suing a woman for sexual harassment. No legal expert surveyed by The Times could contradict her assertion.

“There are no federal or state published cases where there was a male victim of sexual harassment,” she said. “This may be the first (decision) of its kind in the nation.”

The Superior Court jury reached the decision this week, finding that Sabino Gutierrez, 33, of Ontario was subjected to unlawful sexual harassment, that he resigned because of it and that California Acrylic Industries, also known as Cal-Spas, should have taken steps to prevent the abuse alleged against its chief financial officer, Maria Martinez, 39.

An attorney for the company vigorously denied that Martinez had sexually harassed Gutierrez.

In the unanimous verdict, the jury ordered Cal-Spas to pay Gutierrez $375,000 for his emotional distress, $82,000 for economic losses and $550,000 in punitive damages. Martinez was also asked to pay $10,000 in damages.

“This case is important because while most victims of sexual harassment are women, we believe that all persons, including men, have a right to a workplace free of the hostile and intolerable conditions of sexual harassment,” Allred said.

Martinez, who is married and has two children, has denied any sexual involvement with Gutierrez, who is also married. She could not be reached for comment on the verdict. But in a statement, Chuck Hewitt, president of Cal-Spas, termed the verdict “absolutely absurd.”

Hewitt said the decision is a miscarriage of justice and reveals deep-seated stereotypes about women’s place in the business world.

“She worked her way up from a bookkeeper to a chief financial officer,” he said of Martinez. “She should be an example of the American woman’s dream. Instead she is a victim of the American nightmare.”

The lawsuit and jury award, he added, have ruined Martinez’s life and jeopardized the financial stability of the company, which employs 1,300 people.

Gutierrez alleged in the lawsuit that Martinez began pressuring him to have sex shortly after he started working at the firm in 1986.

“Martinez would go into Mr. Gutierrez’s office, close the door behind her, embrace him, kiss him and continuously tell him that her interests in him were sexual,” Allred said. “The sexual overtures increased and continued, culminating in Ms. Martinez not only embracing and kissing Mr. Gutierrez, but also fondling his genitals.”

Whenever Gutierrez attempted to block her overtures, he felt his job was in jeopardy, Allred said.

“He was afraid to reject her sexual advances because, whenever he attempted to do so, Ms. Martinez responded with threats, and he was very afraid of losing the job that meant so much to him,” she said.

Gutierrez said the pressure continued and, in 1988, he had sexual intercourse with Martinez in his house.

“When I argued against her advances, she became very angry,” he said. “I was afraid if I didn’t do it, they would put me out on the street. It was intolerable. It was so bad, there was no way for me to handle it.”

In May, 1990, Gutierrez told Martinez that he had become engaged to be married, hoping the news would end the harassment, Allred said. But a couple of days later, his office was demolished and he was demoted from his manager position, the attorney said.

Things got worse after his marriage in October, 1991, Allred said.

“When he returned to work following the wedding, he found that his desk was gone, as were all his personal belongings,” Allred said. “When he inquired about the disappearance, Ms. Martinez told him she was not his mother and he should get to work.” He complained to company officials, Allred said, but nothing was done.

The more he resisted the more he was harassed, she said. On Feb. 4, he arrived at work and found that another employee had been assigned his duties. He quit the job and remained unemployed until September, 1992, when he was hired by another company.

“My case is a perfect example of a company that didn’t listen to my complaints, and as a result they will pay a very high price for ignoring the situation,” Gutierrez said at a news conference Wednesday in Allred’s office.

Clara Riles, the forewoman of the jury that returned the verdict, also was at the news conference.

“We definitely felt he was coerced,” Riles said. “We felt that Mr. Gutierrez had been sexually harassed and that sexual harassment of men does take place in the workplace.”

But Mary Maloney Roberts, an attorney representing the spa manufacturer, said the jury demonstrated its bias against women with the verdict.

“This is a case about claims and allegations and his word against a woman’s word, a Hispanic woman in a position of authority,” she said. “The jury did not want to believe her.”

Roberts said Gutierrez was replaced as manager because, “frankly, the job had outgrown his skills and abilities.”

“He was not discharged,” Roberts said. “He walked off the job, didn’t show up for work, and the first inkling we had about these allegations were when he filed the charges (months later).”

She said Cal-Spas plans to appeal the decision.