Federal Judge Finds in Favor of Veteran in Harassment Complaint Case

The Department of Defense wrongly refused to search and produce sexual harassment complaints against a senior officer in the Connecticut Army National Guard, a federal judge has ruled.

In 2014, Connecticut veteran Cheryl Eberg requested records related to sexual harassment to which she was subjected by her commanding officer Lt. Col. William Adams while deployed in Iraq. Eberg reported the harassment to Army officials, but never received a response, according to the clinic. The lawsuit, captioned Eberg v. Department of Defense, seeks to compel the Department to produce complaints against Lt. Col. Adams under the Freedom of Information Act. Eberg is represented by the Veterans Legal Services Clinic of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School.

The Department of Defense claimed in its court filings that it did not need to search for all the requested complaints or disclose them if they did exist. Last week, Judge Victor A. Bolden denied the Department’s motion for summary judgment, explaining that the Department must conduct additional searches and produce documents discovered. Eberg’s lawyers will have the opportunity to depose government officials tasked with the searches. Judge Bolden’s decision followed oral argument before the judge on May 11.

In his opinion, Judge Bolden noted the significant public interest in records that provide insight into the military’s handling of sexual harassment complaints, writing that “issues of gender discrimination have long been a matter of strong public concern.” In doing so, Judge Bolden rejected the Department’s argument, made in its motion for summary judgment, that sexual harassment by a commanding officer is a private matter.

“Transparency is necessary to expose the military’s mishandling of sexual harassment complaints,” said Eberg, who has become an advocate for survivors of military sexual trauma since her return from Iraq. “I hope that the eventual disclosure of records related to my harassment will help reform the military’s response to other victims.”

Eberg was born in Hamden and served in the Connecticut National Guard and United States Army from 1983 to 2011, including three active duty tours.

The Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School was founded in 2010 to train law students and to serve the legal needs of veterans. Within the clinic, law students represent individual veterans and their organizations under the supervision of clinical professors.