Fletcher accuser ‘very close’ to securing new counsel in sexual assault lawsuit

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The former San Diego Metropolitan Transit System employee who accused Nathan Fletcher of sexual misconduct said during a hearing on Friday she is “very close” to securing new counsel after parting ways with her second set of attorneys last month.

Grecia Figueroa filed to substitute her counsel in favor of self-representation on March 22, days before discovery hearings were slated to begin in the lead up to a trial next year. She later explained this was an interim measure while she sought out new representation.

Details about why she dropped her last attorney, Jessica Pride, were not provided, although it seemed to be somewhat of an amicable split with the lawyer appearing at several hearings last week “as a courtesy.”

Timeline: Unfolding of the Nathan Fletcher scandal

On Friday, Figueroa told the judge hearing the case, Matthew Branner, that Fletcher’s decision to pursue a defamation counterclaim last week put a bit of a snag in her conversations with a new attorney she is hoping would represent her.

However, she did say she was hopeful by the next scheduled discovery hearing on April 26 to have the lawyer on board. Branner did express a bit of uneasiness at that timeline, given that the hearing will be on motions filed by her former counsel.

“I am expecting the new lawyer to be up to speed on those motions,” he said. “The first thing that person ought to do is call counsel to talk about scheduling and see if there’s any way to resolve any of these issues.”

Proceedings around Figueroa’s lawsuit have been riddled by delays since it was filed last year, mostly over issues about what documents and other evidence should be included in the scope of the case.

The former Supervisor’s attorneys have accused Figueroa of causing these “improper delays” multiple times in the process of document disclosure, including at least one attempt to get over $10,000 in legal penalties against her due to these issues.

At least one of these hurdles, a subpoena sought by Fletcher to Meta Platforms, Inc., was cleared by the court last Thursday. In a tentative ruling ahead of the hearing, Branner agreed that certain steps Figueroa’s previous attorneys had taken appeared to be “a delay tactic.”

The hearing last week came one day after his attorneys accused Figueroa of destroying evidence, prompting Branner to place a temporary restraining order on her cell phone.

Figueroa’s now-former attorneys have pushed back at these claims by Fletcher in court filings, saying that she had been working to produce all documents and evidence requested by his counsel as quickly as possible.

Figueroa’s bombshell lawsuit against Fletcher and MTS stems from at least two instances of alleged sexual assault by the former Supervisor while he was serving as chairman of the MTS Board of Directors, before she was then fired by the transit agency.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Fletcher stepped down as the MTS chairman and announced his resignation from the Board of Supervisors, effective after a stint in an out-of-state rehabilitation center for treatment of substance abuse and post-traumatic stress.

Fletcher has denied the allegations of sexual assault, but did admit to an intimate relationship with Figueroa that he described as consensual.

Fletcher files defamation countersuit against accuser in sexual assault case

His attorneys have pursued messages between the two of them since, with a batch released in January and again in his defamation suit filed last month that appeared to show at least some degree of a reciprocal relationship online.

As far as MTS goes, the transit agency has also held that Figueroa’s firing had nothing to do with her allegations against Fletcher, which officials have said they did not know about until after her termination was initiated. An MTS-requested independent investigation affirmed those claims that her firing was not a result of retaliation, rather due to issues with her performance.

It is unclear at this time how Figueroa’s change of counsel may impact the timeline of when her case may head to trial, given the extra three weeks she was given by the court on Friday. As it is currently scheduled, the trial is supposed to begin in February 2025.

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