Former KGTV San Diego anchor Lisa Lake has sued McGraw-Hill Broadcasting for "wrongful termination, breach of contract, denial of equal pay, racial discrimination, gender harassment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress," according to a posting on a National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET) local union Website.
The suit lists the defendants as McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, KGTV and assistant news director Sean Kennedy.
Lake was a longtime morning anchor who departed the ABC affiliate last year.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants committed these acts "maliciously, fraudulently, and oppressively, and with the wrongful intention of injuring, and acted with an improper and evil motive amounting to malice or despicable conduct," according to the Website.
KGTV VP/General Manager Jeff Block commented, "Everyone in America has the right to sue. We believe the results will show that employees are treated fairly here and there's nothing in [Lake's lawsuit]."
Lake is represented by attorney Joshua D. Gruenberg. "We believe we can prove that Lisa was paid less than her male co-anchor for the same work and that race was a motivating factor in the decision to remove her from her anchor position," Gruenberg said on the NABET Local 54 site.
