La Jolla School Settles Sexual Harassment Suit : Law: Former Country Day receptionist will receive $9,250 following her complaint about the headmaster.

By MICHAEL GRANBERRY

May 7, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Trustees for La Jolla Country Day School have settled a lawsuit brought by a former receptionist who accused the school’s suspended headmaster of sexual harassment, officials said Wednesday.

Dr. Sidney C. Smith Jr., president of the elite private school’s board of trustees, said the school paid Lisa R. Gordon $9,250 as part of an out-of-court settlement that “is not an admission of liability by the school.”

Gordon, 23, who now attends UC Davis, said from her home in Sacramento that almost all of the money will go toward paying legal expenses.

Gordon sued the school and headmaster John C. Littleford, 47, last October, saying Littleford had repeatedly touched her, made inappropriate comments and pressured her for a date.

Gordon said she was “happy with the outcome,” referring to the school’s recent suspension of Littleford, followed by its lawsuit against the University School of Milwaukee, which Littleford left in July, 1990, to take the job at Country Day.

In the current suit, filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Country Day officials accuse their counterparts in Milwaukee of withholding key information regarding Littleford’s employment record--specifically, allegations of financial and sexual misconduct in Milwaukee.

Littleford has denied allegations of any wrongdoing--in La Jolla or Milwaukee.

“Never happened,” Littleford said last fall, when confronted with Gordon’s charges, including her contention that he asked to have a sexual relationship with her. “Not in my wildest nightmares could I imagine that the headmaster of an independent school would say that to a member of the staff, whom he barely knew at all.”

Board president Smith said Littleford will continue to receive his full salary and benefits as headmaster but that the suspension remains in effect.

“We are continuing with our evaluation,” Smith said. “And hopefully, we will be able to reach a resolution of that in the next several weeks. As we said in the beginning, (Littleford’s) suspension is not based solely on (the Lisa Gordon lawsuit) but rather on our desire to conduct a thorough, administrative review on all levels. We’re continuing to do that as thoroughly and fairly as possible.”

Gordon said Wednesday that a large settlement “was never my intention--my intention was to do the right thing. I’m moving on with my life now, but I’m happy to hear they’re investigating, which was my only point from the very beginning. An investigation was all I wanted. It just took them longer than it should have.”

Shortly before filing suit asking $25,000 in damages, Gordon approached the school’s board of trustees. The trustees said they investigated and, by a unanimous vote, absolved Littleford of any wrongdoing.

But after Gordon’s suit was filed, complaints from parents at the school led to the resignation of Gloria de Aragon Andujar, the former board president who championed Littleford’s hiring. Her resignation was soon followed, in early March, by Littleford’s suspension.

“At this point, I have no choice but to believe it was a learning experience,” Gordon said. “I have come to realize that, if justice is served, it often takes a very long time. The whole process involved a lot more mental anguish than I would have liked to believe was true.

“When people in positions of authority and power do something wrong, it’s often difficult to get other people to believe you at first. I’m just happy that what happened to me won’t be happening to other young women at Country Day.”