Memorial company sues Pearland resident over physical assault

A Memorial-area company has filed a lawsuit claiming that an intoxicated Pearland resident attacked its employee during a business meeting in California.

Marubeni America Corp., with offices in Memorial, and its employee Cathy Wolfe filed a lawsuit on Sept. 6 in the Harris County District Court against Intertek USA and its employee Mark Pond, of Pearland, citing assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, negligent hiring and negligent retention.

The plaintiffs say that on March 5, an intoxicated Pond physically assaulted Wolfe during a business meeting in San Ramon, Calif. As a result, the Healdsberg Police arrested Pond on a charge of assault and battery.

According to the brief, Pond attended the meeting as a representative of Intertek, and Wolfe attended the meeting as a representative of Marubeni. After an April 14 workplace investigation concerning the incident, Pond’s employment with Intertek was terminated, the suit alleges.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages and court costs. They are being represented in the case by Houston attorney Greta Ravitsky.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2011-53089.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.