SAN ANTONIO – Days after granting class action certification in a lawsuit filed against the City of San Antonio by former convention center employees who said they were sexually harassed and assaulted at work, court records show a Bexar County state district court judge is reversing course.
On Friday, records obtained by KSAT Investigates show Judge Toni Arteaga withdrew an order she signed on Wednesday to grant class action status to the lawsuit.
A class action designation typically increases the size of a lawsuit, as the pool of potential victims grows and visibility of the case increases.
Court records state Arteaga mistakenly signed the wrong paperwork after asking both sides to submit arguments reflecting the judge’s ruling denying class certification.
The suit, which seeks more than $1 million in damages, was filed after a series of stories from KSAT Investigates revealed that at least five maintenance supervisors at the convention center were accused of improperly treating female coworkers in recent years.
The original suit alleges that under the watch of Convention and Sports Facilities Director Patricia Muzquiz Cantor, the convention center “has become a den where male supervisors prey on their female subordinates.”
The motion for class action certification filed earlier this year stated that attorneys for the former employees contend at least 13 men employed at the convention center since 2021 “sexually harassed, assaulted, battered, and/or sexually abused their female colleagues.”
Nine of those 13 male employees were supervisors, according to the motion.
“This ruling sends a clear message,” attorney Mark Anthony Sánchez told KSAT Investigates. “Powerful institutions do not get to hide behind broken systems or indifferent leadership. Maria (Villegas) and Sarah (Schneuker) stood up because they believed the truth mattered — not just for themselves, but for every woman who worked under these abusive conditions.”
Sánchez added that the group’s voices will now be heard and the city will have to answer for what happened.
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