A former employee of a prominent nonprofit organization has filed a defamation lawsuit against a law corporation and its principal attorney, alleging false accusations that have severely impacted her career and personal life. The complaint was filed by Meghan Holst in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Francisco, on August 28, 2024, naming Belous Law Corporation and Relani Belous as defendants.
According to the court documents, Meghan Holst, who previously worked for BAY.ORG—Aquarium of the Bay—a California nonprofit corporation dedicated to ocean research and conservation, claims she was subjected to ongoing discrimination and harassment by the organization's then-CEO. This hostile environment ultimately forced her resignation. Holst alleges that despite her dedication and contributions to BAY.ORG's mission, she faced relentless efforts to undermine her work and reputation.
The lawsuit details an incident on August 29, 2023, when Relani Belous and Belous Law Corporation sent a letter to Maleah N. Vidal at the University of California Davis’ Office of The Campus Counsel. The letter falsely accused Holst of unauthorized transfer of proprietary research materials from BAY.ORG to UC Davis. These allegations implied that Holst had stolen trade secrets from her former employer.
Holst contends that these defamatory statements were made without reasonable care for their truthfulness and caused significant harm to her professional reputation. She was compelled to hire legal counsel to defend herself against multiple cease-and-desist letters from the defendants accusing her of theft and unethical behavior. These accusations not only delayed her academic progress but also caused severe emotional distress.
Despite being exonerated by both UC Davis and Disney's research department—who were involved in reviewing the allegations—the damage to Holst's reputation had already been done. She claims that the baseless accusations led to humiliation among her peers and colleagues, affecting her career trajectory permanently.
In addition to seeking compensatory damages for economic losses and emotional distress, Holst is pursuing punitive damages against Belous Law Corporation and Relani Belous for acting with malice in making these defamatory statements. She asserts that their actions were fraudulent and intended to cause harm.
The case is being handled by attorneys Julien Swanson and Eric Bass from Austin Swanson Law Firm PC based in San Francisco. The case ID is CGC-24-617624.