A woman who is suing the Bothell Mayor claims she stayed overnight with him during a council-related business trip in Olympia during their two-year affair.
A former employee of the North Creek Law Firm, Micaela Mae, 23, filed a civil lawsuit on Oct. 29 against the business, Mayor Mark Lamb and his wife Kim, for wrongful termination and invasion of privacy in connection with the affair.
In an answer to the complaint, Lamb admitted to a sexual relationship with the woman but denied most other claims in Mae’s suit.
In a counterclaim, the Lambs requested that the suit be dismissed and Mae pay all court and attorney fees. They also asserted that Lamb’s position as mayor was “of no consequence.”
However, a judge denied that motion during a Nov. 15 hearing and ruled in the plaintiff’s favor.
“We expect the evidence to show that Mr. Lamb’s duties and conduct as Mayor of Bothell and his law firm North Creek are inextricably linked,” said Mae’s attorney Howard Hall in a Nov. 13 response to Lamb’s counterclaim.
Hall also said they expect the evidence to show that while most of their encounters occurred in the workplace, on at least one occasion while Mae was employed by Lamb, she went to Olympia and stayed overnight with Lamb, who was attending an annual conference of Washington elected officials in his capacity as mayor.
Both Hall and Lamb’s attorney, Christine Slattery, declined to comment.
Mae and the mayor’s relationship began in 2010 when the woman was working at Masala Bar and Grill in Bothell. According to court documents, Lamb and another unidentified member of the Bothell City Council, ate dinner at Masala when Lamb allegedly met and obtained Mae’s phone number.
During the relationship Lamb suggested that Mae come work for his law firm, the documents continue. He eventually offered to support her in attending Edmonds Community College’s paralegal program. The woman eventually accepted the offer and began working at the North Creek Law Firm in November 2011 as an intern for $3,000 a month with the caveat that their personal relationship end, according to the complaint. Mae also allegedly told Lamb that she intended to start seeing other men.
But Mae alleges that Lamb never paid her more than $1,500 a month and “had to beg to be paid.”
Lamb states in legal documents that Mae was a paid intern for the firm starting in November 2011 and was paid $1,500 a month but denies all other allegations.
In January, the two allegedly restarted their sexual relationship upon Lamb’s request, frequently having sex in Lamb’s office, the documents continue.
Mae states in the complaint that while she was employed at the firm, Lamb was more demanding and “asserted power and control over the situation.”
Lamb stated in court documents that the sexual relationship was “consensual.”
Their sexual relationship allegedly continued for months almost entirely in Lamb’s office during working hours.
In March, Mae decided to terminate the relationship. Later that month Lamb allegedly saw Mae printing out information on a person she was considering dating, which sparked a heated argument between the two. She was fired the next day when she returned to the office, the documents continue.
