Two former employees are suing Article Student Living and former supervisors at the Isla Vista apartment company for alleged sexual assault and discrimination. 

The lawsuits were filed by two anonymous Jane Does who were living and working at ICON Apartments at the time of the alleged incidents of harassment, sexual assault, and discrimination. 

Article Student Living is a nationwide company that operates student apartment complexes across the country, including the ICON Apartments at 6545 Trigo Road and ICON Gardens at 6530 Seville Road. 

Both lawsuits name Brett Williams, a property manager and supervisor at ICON Apartments, and other unidentified individuals as defendants. 

The first lawsuit, filed on Feb. 25, claims that the plaintiff started working for Article Student Living as a community assistant in April 2023 until November 2024. 

During Jane Doe’s employment, the lawsuit alleges that Williams told her she gained weight, called her fat, made frequent comments about the attractiveness of residents and Jane Doe’s coworkers, pressured her and co-workers to drink with him, and told her she was hired because she was attractive. 

Williams would allegedly routinely use a universal key to let himself inside the plaintiff’s apartment as well as her co-workers’ apartment, and would coerce one of her co-workers into having sexual encounters with him, according to the lawsuit

“Plaintiff lived in fear that Defendant Williams would enter her apartment unannounced and try to pressure her into engaging in acts she was not comfortable with,” the lawsuit states.

In September 2023, the plaintiff and five other female employees reportedly made written complaints to human resources. Article Student Living reportedly knew about Williams’ history of misconduct, including that he was fired from his previous job because of racial and sexual harassment allegations against him, according to the lawsuit.

“As a direct result of defendants’ misconduct, plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress, including but not limited to humiliation, severe anxiety, lack of self-worth, self-criticism, body dysmorphia, low self-esteem, depression, disordered eating, bulimia, issues with intimacy, body aches, hair loss, insomnia, nightmares, trust issues and social withdrawal,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges that the plaintiff was wrongfully terminated because of her son’s disability/medical condition. 

Williams denied all of the allegations in a response to the lawsuit that was submitted in court in September. 

The response argues that the plaintiff voluntarily consented “to the contact” described in the lawsuit. Additionally, the response alleges that the cause of the incidents described in the lawsuit were “due to the negligence and/or strict liability of other person or entities” for which Williams is not responsible. 

Article Student Living responded to the lawsuit by denying all allegations and saying that the plaintiff failed to fully take advantage of known policies and procedures for reporting workplace discrimination and harassment before filing her lawsuit. 

Additionally, the company argues that it took “prompt and appropriate corrective action” in response to her concerns “at all relevant times.”

The company’s response also argues that if any manager discriminated against or harassed the plaintiff, that manager acted in violation of its policies. 

Both responses allege that the plaintiff had “unclean hands” in respect to the allegations, alleging that she acted in an unethical manner that makes her ineligible for compensation. 

The second lawsuit was filed Oct. 20 by a different Jane Doe who worked for Article Student Living from August 2023 to December 2023. It alleges that Williams told her that he masturbated to her after her interview, asked her for nude photos, and would regularly ask her inappropriate sexual questions.

The plaintiff was 18 at the time while Williams was 27, according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit alleges that Williams would reportedly let himself into her room while she was changing, sexually assaulted her, and told her not to tell anyone or she would be fired. 

In September 2023, Williams allegedly coerced the plaintiff into drinking and then later let himself into her room and assaulted her. He filmed the encounter and sent it to Javier Romero, a leasing manager and supervisor at the ICON Apartments, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Williams and Romero have assaulted her.

She allegedly also went to Romero’s apartment to tell him she felt coerced into having sex with Williams and that she felt “violated and powerless.” Romero then allegedly threw her onto his bed, sexually assaulted her, and told her not to tell anyone, according to the lawsuit.

The wrongful termination lawsuit states that the plaintiff was forced to resign from her job because she could not tolerate sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. 

Williams responded to the lawsuit by again denying all allegations and alleged that the plaintiff consented to the contact detailed in the lawsuit.

Article Student Living responded by alleging that the plaintiff “failed to timely, adequately and properly exhaust all internal and administrative remedies” before filing the lawsuit. 

Additionally, the company alleges that any unlawful acts were in contrast to its business policy, that the company was not aware of any alleged harassment or discrimination, and that it took “prompt and appropriate corrective action” in response to the plaintiff’s concerns “at all relevant times.”

Both responses allege that the plaintiff “engaged in misconduct” that makes them ineligible for compensation. 

The lawsuits allege that Williams made several racially discriminatory comments, including telling the first plaintiff not to mention that she is Filipino because “it makes her less attractive,” and implying she was a bad driver because she was Asian. 

He also allegedly insinuated to the second plaintiff that her arms were short because she’s Indian, said that Indian people “come from monkeys,” repeatedly said the N-word, and tried to pressure her and other employees to say the N-word. 

Article Student Living did not respond to Noozhawk’s request for comment on the lawsuits.

Both cases have case management conferences scheduled in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in February.