In advance of a formal reply to the court, former Penguin Canada ceo David Davidar’s attorney Peter Downard released a statement, saying “the public attacks require Mr. Davidar’s response.” Their story is that “Davidar had a consensual, flirtatious relationship that grew out of a close friendship with a colleague” and they imply that Rundle turned it into a dispute after he decided “their relationship should be confined to business.”
Davidar says that in 2007 “their friendship became flirtatious” and he “suggested to Ms. Rundle that their relationship become more romantic.” The statement claims ebbs and flows in that flirtation, but says “throughout this friendship Mr. Davidar would ask Ms. Rundle if she liked the attention he was paying her, and she indicated she did.” By his account “their personal social friendship resumed” in August 2008. He says they kissed twice, both times at the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair, and asserts that Rundle said “she had enjoyed their kisses in Frankfurt, whether or not they were ever repeated.”
Designed to support their account of the relationship, they say in the statement that “at Christmas in 2009, Ms. Rundle gave Mr. Davidar a gift of cream-filled biscuits. On other occasions Ms. Rundle gave Mr. Davidar chocolates, pastries, a scarf and socks.”
The release says that “in February of 2010, following the death of his father, Mr. Davidar took stock of his life. He felt he could no longer continue his personal relationship with Ms. Rundle. He spoke with her and told her their relationship should be confined to business.”
As for former employee Samantha Francis, Davidar essentially admits to inappropriate behavior without apparently seeing it that way: “Mr. Davidar engaged in flirtatious banter with her for a short period of time. He did not engage in any conduct toward Ms. Francis that he knew or should have known was unwelcome.” He says that Francis eventually indicated in writing that they “had a personal misunderstanding which had been resolved.”
Penguin has yet to file a response with the court to Rundle’s charges of unlawful dismissal. And in response to our queries last week, a spokesperson for Penguin Canada declined to indicate who is currently in charge of the unit (or to whom that person is reporting until David Shanks takes over executive oversight later this year), nor would they say whom at the company is overseeing their response to the lawsuit. They simply reiterated that “a head for the Canadian company will be announced in the near future.”