Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone

Tag Archives: Melinda Abbt

Jury Awards Former Houston Firefighter $250k Over Nude Video

A Harris County jury has awarded a former Houston firefighter $250,000 in damages against her former captain for unlawfully sharing a nude video of her. Melinda Abbt filed suit against Captain John Chris Barrientes and the city, alleging sexual harassment and violation of a Texas law titled “Unlawful Disclosure or Promotion of Intimate Visual Material.”

Houston Sexual Harassment Suit Reinstated by Fifth Circuit

The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a sexual harassment suit brought against the Houston Fire Department by a female firefighter. Melinda Abbt brought the action in 2019 after discovering that male firefighters obtained a nude video of her, and watched it multiple times over a period of years.

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.

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