Alkiviades “Alki” David, heir to the Coca-Cola bottling fortune, has been ordered to pay $900 million to a former employee in what stands as one of the largest sexual damages awards in US legal history.
According to the victim’s attorney, a Los Angeles jury awarded the woman, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit against David, damages for sexual assault and harassment spanning from 2016 to 2019.
The plaintiff accused David of subjecting her to severe sexual harassment and assault, including rape, over a three-year period.
“It’s so despicable, the facts of this case. He raped my client while on trial in another case,” her attorney Gary Dordick told the Los Angeles Times.
The jury award, which Dordick’s firm said is believed to be “one of the largest sexual assault verdicts in history,” adds to a series of legal defeats for David. He has previously lost multiple sexual misconduct cases, resulting in approximately $70 million in damages against him and his businesses.
David, known for his involvement in the hologram industry creating 3D avatars of deceased celebrities like Tupac and Michael Jackson, employed the woman, a model in her 30s, at his company Hologram USA.
She alleged that David’s inappropriate behavior began early in her employment, with incidents such as forcibly kissing a colleague and attempting to kiss her during a business trip.
After a layoff and subsequent reconnection in 2018, David offered her a position at his cannabis company, Swiss-X, where he allegedly assaulted her under the guise of sampling a CBD product, leading to further incidents of sexual misconduct.
The lawsuit detailed escalating abuse, culminating in an alleged rape during a business meeting in the presence of David’s dog, the publication reported.
In the past, David has faced legal action from other accusers, including a notable case where he was ordered to pay $58 million in damages for misconduct against another employee in 2019.
The Greek billionaire, 51, born in Nigeria and educated in British boarding schools, has been the subject of multiple harassment allegations in recent years.
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