Report: Winery worker files harassment suit against billionaire owner of Halter Ranch
Hansjörg Wyss. Photo from Halter Ranch website.
– A lawsuit filed April 21 in San Luis Obispo County Superior Court accuses billionaire businessman Hansjörg Wyss of sexual harassment, retaliation, and sexual battery, according to multiple reports.
The case, filed under number 25CVP-0148, was brought by former employee Madison Busby. The complaint alleges that Wyss, owner of Halter Ranch Winery in Paso Robles, engaged in years of misconduct, including repeated lewd comments and propositions for sex.
According to the complaint, Wyss employed both Busby and her husband and promised to make her husband a co-owner of the winery. Busby alleges that “while Wyss was harassing her, he continued to dangle the promise of co-ownership,” according to this release on Wine Business. When she attempted to distance herself from him, the complaint states, Wyss retaliated against her and withdrew the ownership offer to her husband.
Wyss is also the founder of the Wyss Foundation, co-owner of Chelsea Football Club, and the former chief executive of Synthes, a medical device manufacturer.
