A call for change in the practices Massage Envy franchises are using to deal with reports of sexual misconduct is growing louder after another lawsuit was filed this week alleging the company failed to protect customers when at least two customers reported instances of sexual misconduct by the same massage therapist at a Burlingame location last year.
Filed in San Mateo County Superior Court Monday, the lawsuit alleges the company and management of its Burlingame location should have known about reports former massage therapist Brandon Davis, 28, sexually assaulted customers at its Burlingame location. The suit also alleged Massage Envy and its management acted in accordance with company policies in not taking action to ensure he didn’t harm others.
The suit alleges by not requiring franchisees to report sexual assaults of customers by its therapists to law enforcement or state massage therapy boards and encouraging employees to handle allegations of sexual misconduct “in-house,” the company’s failure to warn customers of a problem effectively protected the company at the expense of its customers’ safety and that of confidential victim Jane Doe when she was allegedly assaulted by Davis Oct. 28, 2017.
Arraigned on criminal charges Aug. 2, Davis has pleaded not guilty to six counts of felony sexual battery by fraud and seven misdemeanor counts of battery involving 12 alleged victims in incidents that took place at the massage establishment between Aug. 17, 2017, and Dec. 3, 2017, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. Out of custody after having posted a $250,000 bail bond Aug. 22, Davis faces an estimated 10 years in state prison if convicted of his charges.
In representing Doe, attorney Jessica Dayton is hoping the effort to hold the company accountable sparks change in the way Massage Envy conducts background checks and trains the massage therapists and staff members it hires to prevent incidents like the one that traumatized her client. The suit she filed came less than three months after attorney Robert Thompson filed a civil suit against the company in July. That suit alleged Davis sexually assaulted another confidential victim Nov. 12 just days after Doe was allegedly assaulted Oct. 28.
Given the similarities between their cases, Dayton said she is coordinating with Thompson — whose Burlingame-based firm is representing along with Philadelphia-based firm Laffey, Bucci & Kent four other victims who were allegedly inappropriately touched or exposed at Massage Envy franchises in Beverly Hills, Elk Grove, Redondo Beach and West Covina. She noted their cases join dozens of reports of sexual misconduct lodged against Massage Envy by customers across the country, adding the similarities between the victims’ accounts are striking and yet uniquely traumatizing to each individual.
“The fact that this is happening over and over again … proves to us that there is a pattern and practice of cover-up by the franchise,” she said. “We’re hoping to effect some systematic change here in the way they do business, in the way they respond to sexual assault.”
On Oct. 28, Doe came to the Burlingame Massage Envy, where she had received a massage from Davis twice before without incident, for a full-body massage. He allegedly touched her extremely close to her groin and chest, eventually touching her breast and putting his naked penis in her hand. Doe allegedly objected to this and felt paralyzed while Davis completed the massage, according to the suit.
At the end of the massage, Davis allegedly apologized for what happened earlier and said he does not do that all the time. Doe allegedly reported the incident to the Burlingame Police Department that night, and notified the Burlingame Massage Envy about it in a Nov. 30 letter, according to the suit.
Dayton said her client had no desire to speak with the management of the Burlingame location about the incident and sent the letter to put them on notice. She said Doe received a voicemail from a manager after she sent the letter asking to speak with her about her discomfort with the services received.
Because the dates of Davis’ other alleged assaults fall before and after her client’s, Dayton said it’s clear the establishment does not take claims of sexual assault seriously, noting its management at least knew about her client’s experience and did not act quickly enough to prevent him from harming customers who saw Davis for a massage afterwards.
“We know for a fact they had the report and then this perpetrator went on to assault other women,” she said. “That is a huge failure.”
Among the establishment’s other failures was not cooperating with police and not having in place a system aimed at supporting customers when they come forward with these types of reports, added Dayton, who said contacting a customer directly and asking her to recount an incident can add to the experience of trauma.
In an email, Massage Envy said it is not able to comment on active litigation but, in an Aug. 27 post on its website, reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to safety. Since late 2017, the company said on its website it has worked to strengthen its policies on prevention and inappropriate conduct, assembled a safety advisory council, facilitated training aimed at educating its workers on the effect trauma has on victims, provided clients with a brochure containing contact information on law enforcement and state massage boards and compiled a list of third-party organizations that can assist franchises with investigations, among other measures.
“Massage Envy is committed to providing a safe environment for our members, guests and service providers,” Massage Envy CEO Joseph Magnacca said in a prepared statement. “One incident is too many, which is why our rigorous Commitment to Safety plan is in place to identify and implement measures that will keep the clients and therapists at Massage Envy franchise locations safe.”
Since he filed a suit against the company in July, Thompson said the allegations of 25 women who went to Massage Envy locations across the state have been added to it, noting the case has been deemed complex. He said the case has grown to be much bigger than he imagined, but now he expects the suit to continue to include the experiences of more customers given the volume of calls he’s received.
Thompson said he’s focused on pursuing a case against Massage Envy because the company is consciously disregarding a problem it has out of a fear it could to go out of business if it warns customers about allegations of sexual misconduct.
“The magnitude of it is immense and this company is satisfied with denying or trying to say that this is just a few of the bad apples that have infiltrated our company when that’s just not true,” he said. “All they’re concerned about is protecting their brand.”
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