Activision Blizzard sued for “wrongful death” as family claims sexual harassment led to employee suicide

Activision Blizzard has been sued for “wrongful death” by a former employee’s family, who are reportedly alleging that workplace sexual harassment led to the employee’s suicide in 2017.

In July 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (CDFEH) filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard accusing the company of allowing “sexual harassment with no repercussion.”

That filing also referenced a female employee’s suicide in 2017, which is now the focus of its own lawsuit – as reported by the Washington Post‘s Gus Garcia-Roberts and Shannon Liao.

According to the new WP report, the victim’s parents are filing a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. Their complaint “claims that sexual harassment was a ‘significant factor’ leading to her suicide.”

Activision Blizzard sued by family of employee who died of suicide

In the original CDFEH lawsuit, it was alleged that the employee – Kerri Moynihan – was the subject of sexual harassment by a male supervisor. As the complaint explained, inappropriate pictures of her were allegedly shared around a holiday party and the supervisor brought inappropriate items with them on a business trip prior to her death.

• Read more: Phil Spencer says “conversations” with Activision Blizzard workers needed amid lawsuit

According to WP, the family’s lawsuit both accuses workplace sexual harassment for leading to Moynihan’s death and claims the supervisor, Greg Restituito, “lied to detectives about his relationship with her.”

Activision-Blizzard / Pexels: Sora Shimazaki

Activision Blizzard are currently dealing with a number of legal situations.

Further, the lawsuit alleges that Activision Blizzard denied police access to Moynihan or Restituito’s company-issued  laptops or cellphones.

The Post were unable to reach Restuito, who stopped working for Activision Blizzard in May 2017 (a month after Moynihan’s death) for comment. They did reach the company, though, who explained that they “will address the complaint through the legal process as appropriate.”

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This is the latest in a series of legal developments for Activision Blizzard, who are still contending with the CDFEH lawsuit and a US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into CEO Bobby Kotick.