(Bloomberg) — A former Citigroup Inc. trader whose alleged conduct is at the center of a 2024 lawsuit by a TP ICAP Group Plc broker said claims that he harassed her are “false.”

Benjamin Waters, who says he left Citigroup in November 2023, in a statement denied that he acted inappropriately toward Christine O’Reilly. In her August 2024 lawsuit, O’Reilly alleged that as a New York-based employee at ICAP she was forced to endure relentless harassment and unwanted advances from Waters, a trader at Citigroup, a prized client. Waters wasn’t named as a defendant in her lawsuit. 

“My interactions with her never crossed any inappropriate lines and her accusations against me are completely false,” Waters said.  

A judge earlier this week ruled to dismiss O’Reilly’s claims against Citigroup and two against TP ICAP in the case. “I was glad to see the court’s ruling,” Waters said in the statement. 

O’Reilly sued ICAP for alleged discrimination and maintaining a hostile work environment, according to her complaint. She also claimed Citigroup failed to properly supervise Waters or take action against him after O’Reilly complained directly to a supervisor at the bank. 

Citigroup had argued it had no legal duty to O’Reilly because she wasn’t a Citigroup employee. ICAP denied many of O’Reilly’s allegations, including that it engaged in a “toxic alliance” with Citigroup and that its “work culture emphasized relationship-building through after-hours socializing.”

The brokerage also denied O’Reilly’s claim that she reported harassment to a senior managing director and subsequently suffered retaliation, saying it hoped to retain O’Reilly but that she planned to leave to attend law school.   

On Monday, Citigroup won dismissal of O’Reilly’s claims against the bank, saying that the court lacked jurisdiction over Waters because he was an employee of UK-based Citigroup Global Markets and that his alleged harassment happened outside the bounds of his employment. 

The judge also threw out two of the claims against TP ICAP, one for breach of contract and one for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. 

The lawsuit continues over remaining claims made by O’Reilly.  

The case is O’Reilly v. ICAP Corporates LLC, 24-cv-05913, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

–With assistance from Ava Benny-Morrison.

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