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Former Keller Williams CEO John Davis has reached a settlement with an accuser over sexual misconduct allegations and said her withdrawal of the accusations would bolster his case against real estate franchisee Gary Keller and former KW President Josh Team lawsuit.
Keller Williams, meanwhile, is asking the court to find Davis in contempt of court, and Davis has until Friday to respond.
on February 26 Press releaseDavis’ legal team publicly announced that Keller Williams franchisee Inga Dow had dropped sexual misconduct charges against him, “strengthening his campaign against the residential real estate giant and its founder.” , ex-president and other executives — who knew the charges were fabricated and used them as a weapon against Davis.”
In a statement to Inman, Keller Williams blasted the timing of Davis’ announcement, which coincides with the franchise’s flagship annual event, Family Reunion.
KW spokesman Darryl Frost said: “Once again, John Davis’ attorneys appear to be taking orders from his publicist.”
“Nearly three months after Ms. Dow dismissed the accusations against Mr. Davis, on the morning of Keller Williams’ biggest event of the year, he was back trying to litigate his accusations in the court of public opinion. Not surprisingly, It’s another page from his same playbook — trying to shut down the legal system with baseless claims and misleading press releases.
“We are fully prepared to meet with Mr. Davis in arbitration if he wishes to pursue his specious claims. We have no comment on the resolution of Mr. Davis’ sexual assault allegations against him, which are inconsistent with our The baseless accusations have nothing to do with the business or Davis himself.”
March 2022 Amended complaint, Dow ChemicalThe executive of Keller Williams Realty in Fort Worth and Johnson County, Texas, claims she suffered years of sexual misconduct, harassment and abuse at the hands of Davis and that Keller Williams took no action measures to address these alleged conduct and continued retaliation for her reporting. it.
In November 2022, Davis sued Keller, Dow, Team and Keller Williams, alleging that he resigned from KW over disagreements with Keller over establishing the franchise’s full market value, which Davis believed “could seriously harm the franchise.” The profitability of the franchise.” Keller and his team defamed him and concealed allegations from The Dow Chemical Company that resulted in tens of millions of dollars in financial losses as they negotiated the sale of their KW Market Center location after his resignation. .
In September 2023, Dow permanently dismissed her claims against Keller Williams, Keller and other KW executives, but not against Davis.
No Dow Chemical
On November 27, Dow dismissed all charges against Davis “with prejudice,” meaning she could not refile them and her case was officially closed.In the filing, attorneys for Dow Chemical Company included a Affidavit The Dow Chemical Company was created “under the terms of the settlement.”
In the affidavit, Tao said, “I made a number of statements against Mr. Davis that falsely accused him of inappropriate conduct, including harassment, sexual assault, and rape. I fully retract all of these statements and provide Mr. Davis with Apologize.”
Andrew Miltenberg
Two days later, Davis fired His claims against Dow were biased. “Mr. Davis only agreed to settle the case based on Ms. Dow’s sworn testimony,” Davis’ attorney, Andrew Miltenberg of Nesenoff & Miltenberg, told Inman in a statement. Inga Dow’s case… included her admission that she had falsely accused Mr Davis, her retraction of her views, and her written apology to Mr Davis.
When asked why the affidavit did not say that Tao’s accusations were false, as noted in Davis’ press release, Davis said in a statement, “It is my understanding that Inga Tao stated in her A sworn statement cannot directly admit to having previously lied under oath. In her original complaint, there was no charge of perjury. That is why I agree with the affidavit language. However, the spirit of the sworn testimony insulates me from Dow’s untrue accusations Influence.”
Davis received no funds as part of the settlement, his spokesman, Jamie Diaferia, told Inman Dow. Dow and her attorney, Michael King, did not respond to requests for comment.
In February 2023, the court sent Davis’ lawsuit to arbitration, and in March 2023, two owners of Keller Williams Market Center, Colleen and Bart Basinski, sued Keller Williams Si, Keller, KW President Marc King and regional leaders Dan Holt and Colette Ching allege they were sued for their work with Davis and their refusal to follow Davis’ orders. and suffered retaliation for opposing the same market capitalization business strategy.
In August, Davis filed a second racketeering lawsuit against Keller Williams, Keller and Team, alleging in part that the franchisor inflated key profitability metrics such as the company’s sales and profits to convince individuals to purchase Keller Williams locations and Market center. The lawsuit was amended in November to add allegations of embezzlement against Keller. KW responded, “We will continue to comply with the law and vigorously defend against (Davis’) baseless accusations.”
Gary Keller
In a press release issued last week, Davis alleged that Keller is leading a conspiracy in which “Keller Williams executives use their power and platform to seriously damage the business and reputation of KW franchise owners so that they can Seize equity in their businesses and accumulate more power. ”
“Investors and franchisees saw the facts we presented in the lawsuit and said, ‘This happened to me, too,'” Miltenberg said. “Gary Keller tried to acquire all the franchises by locking the owners into deals they couldn’t get out of, and then either seizing these independently owned businesses or buying them back at a deep discount so he could control them, just Like they’re part of a larger company, as opposed to a franchise model.”
Davis said Dow’s withdrawal of the claims was “long-awaited vindication” for him and allowed him to focus on the racketeering lawsuit.
“I have been harmed financially and reputationally by standing up against Gary Keller,” Davis said. “My goal, besides getting back what was lost, is to make sure no one else gets hurt.”
However, in September, KW, Keller and team submitted a sports The court is asking the court to file civil contempt proceedings against Davis after the court ordered him to resolve his claims through arbitration in the first lawsuit he filed.
October, Davis responded He said the claims in the lawsuit were different and therefore he did not breach the arbitration order. The following month, the second lawsuit was transferred to the same court as the first. February 29, court Already ordered Miltenberg told Inman that Davis will provide “advice” to the court by March 8 on how to handle the contempt motion, meaning Davis will tell the court whether he thinks the second lawsuit should go to court or go through. Arbitration to decide.
“The parties will submit an updated status report on Friday to make recommendations on the status of both cases as well as contempt motions,” he said in a statement.
Send an email to Andrea V. Brambila.
