Latest news with #Synthes
San Francisco Chronicle
14-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Billionaire California winery owner sued for allegedly sexually harassing former employee
An 89-year-old Swiss billionaire who owns California wineries repeatedly sexually harassed a 30-year-old former employee, according to a lawsuit. Madison Busby claims that Hansjorg Wyss, owner of Halter Ranch winery in Paso Robles, repeatedly propositioned her, exposed himself to her, groped her and told her stories about his sexual exploits, then retaliated against her when she did not return his advances. 'Madison has suffered severe emotional distress from the harassment which took place over the course of many years, and also from lost wages and then future damages,' said her attorney, John Ly. 'She's been harmed immensely.' Busby's husband, Bryce Mullins, has filed a separate complaint against Wyss, claiming that he failed to honor a promise of equity in Halter Ranch that would eventually have been worth at least $30 million. Wyss has not yet responded to either complaint. Case management conferences for both are scheduled for August. Wyss founded the medical device company Synthes and is chairman of the philanthropic Wyss Foundation, which has $1.7 billion in assets, according to ProPublica. He is known for his support of environmental causes and Democratic candidates. He bought the 2,700-acre Halter Ranch property on the west side of Paso Robles in 2000, and has since expanded to open Halter Ranch wineries in Temecula and Fredericksburg, Texas. According to Mullins' lawsuit, the overall company, which includes real estate holdings, has a valuation of over $100 million. Mullins was working at Halter Ranch and living in a house on the property when he brought Busby, then his new girlfriend, to meet Wyss in 2019. During their first meeting Wyss 'deliberately placed his hand on Ms. Busby's butt and groped her,' her complaint alleges. On a subsequent meeting, Wyss 'made several sexual propositions,' according to the complaint, but Busby did not want to speak up because she did not want to jeopardize Mullins' standing with the company. She moved in with him on the property and in 2021 began working for Halter Ranch as a project manager. Wyss would stay in the house with them when he visited the property, according to the lawsuit. After her hiring, the complaint alleges, Wyss continued to make sexual advances to Busby, both alone and with Mullins. 'Mr. Wyss told Ms. Busby how much he enjoyed having a threesome, even with another man,' the complaint reads. 'He even suggested a 'foursome' and stated it would be 'fun' for the three of them and another woman by the name of 'Lori.'' Wyss repeatedly told Busby about his own sexual experiences, including 'his many sexual affairs outside of his marriage,' she alleges, including a story about him and Lori meeting a man in a movie theater in Switzerland, initiating oral sex with him, then having a threesome at Lori's apartment. 'He further said that Americans were 'too uptight' around those having affairs,' the complaint alleges. One day, Wyss 'shoved his iPad in Ms. Busby's face,' according to the lawsuit, to show Lori wearing 'sheer, black lingerie' on FaceTime. On multiple occasions, Wyss undressed in front of Busby and Mullins, the complaint alleges, and invited them to remove their clothing too. Busby remained silent out of concern for her and Mullins' employment, the complaint alleges, even though in 2022 Wyss told her, 'if you ever went after me for sexual harassment, you would win.' After she and Mullins married, had a baby and moved to a smaller house on the property that would not be able to accommodate Wyss, Busby alleges that he began demanding that they pay $1,650 in monthly rent, even though the previous tenant of the smaller house had paid only $300. When Busby returned to work from maternity leave in 2023, the complaint reads, Wyss told both her and Mullins that they were being overpaid. Busby volunteered to reduce her salary from $75,000 to $65,000, she claims, 'fearful of any more retaliation.' She resigned in July, sending a formal complaint email about Wyss' behavior on the last day of her employment. Mullins' complaint describes Wyss coaxing him away from his life and finance career on the East Coast to help run Halter Ranch and turn it profitable. He was reluctant to take the job, according to the lawsuit, and a business school professor warned him 'that Halter Ranch's problems — stemming in large part from Mr. Wyss's emotional decision-making and outsized ego — were not ones Mr. Mullins would be able to remedy.' He eventually became Halter Ranch's vice president and general manager, which he describes in the complaint as a demanding job that continued long past the two-year term that Wyss had originally described. But he was enticed to stay because Wyss said that he wanted Mullins 'to have full control of the Halter Companies upon Mr. Wyss's death,' the lawsuit reads, instead of his own children, clarifying that the interest would be worth at least $30 million. After Busby made the email complaint, Mullins alleges, Wyss 'abruptly terminated' his employment, offering a severance package that required Mullins to release his claim to the equity that Wyss had promised.
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Surgeon in battle with Johnson & Johnson over spine tech
A leading British surgeon is seeking payment from US medical giant Johnson & Johnson in a long-running dispute over the development of spinal implants. John Webb, 82, who was also a doctor to the Royal Family, says he and a Swiss colleague were not paid by the beneficiaries of their trailblazing work. The implants are now owned by Johnson & Johnson after a complex series of mergers over more than 20 years. Webb and his colleague, who does not wish to be named, designed the cutting-edge devices, trademarked under the brand name Synthes, between 1987 and 2005 while they were working for the AO Foundation research organisation in Switzerland. Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, 89, a co-owner of Chelsea Football Club, bought the rights to Synthes devices from AO for £900 million in 2006. Webb and his colleague claim they unknowingly signed over their intellectual property at that time. Johnson & Johnson then bought Wyss's firm in 2012 in a £16 billion deal. A Johnson & Johnson spokesman said: 'We have thoroughly reviewed the materials submitted by the claimants. Our assessment confirms that there is no basis for their claim.'
