Schulte Roth & Zabel said Thursday it no longer employs associate Samir Tabar, who was accused of battery and infliction of emotional distress in a suit filed by a former girlfriend who claims he was “emotionally and physically abusive” during a three-year relationship that resulted in her being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Tabar’s accuser, Angela Kovalesky, filed the suit [PDF] in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. As first reported by the New York Post, the suit details one incident in which Tabar allegedly struck Kovalesky and left bruises on her arms and legs while damaging several items in her apartment and threatening her with a knife. Kovalesky also claims in her complaint that Tabar embarked on a “campaign of harassment and threats” that apparently featured an “endless stream of texts and emails” directed at her.
Those messages, the suit claims, included threats of “dire consequences” if Kovalesky ignored Tabar, who allegedly said he would contact her family and tell them she had a drug addiction. Tabar also allegedly hid an electronic tracking device of the type used by dog-owners to track their pets in Kovalesky’s purse to keep tabs on her and threatened to blackmail her with “inappropriate photos” taken while she slept.
The suit, which seeks roughly $3.75 million in damages, also includes claims of trespass to chattel, malicious abuse of legal process, tortious interference with contract, intentional or malicious harm to another and defamation.
As of Thursday, Tabar’s bio had been removed from the firm’s website. In a statement provided to The Am Law Daily, a Schulte Roth spokeswoman said: “Mr. Tabar had been on leave and now no longer works for the firm.”
