Miyoko Schinner Files Counter Lawsuit
Allegations include gender discrimination and retaliation
Below is a sampling of news stories about Miyoko Schinner’s counter claims against her own company, which filed a lawsuit against her last month.
Miyoko Schinner files countersuit vs Miyoko’s, says ‘mansplaining’ male execs made it ‘impossible for her to effectively do her job’ (Agfundernews)
From that article:
The public dispute between Miyoko Schinner and the board of the plant-based dairy company she founded heated up this week, with Schinner filing a lawsuit alleging she was forced out of Miyoko’s last year after complaining to HR about male executives who “openly denigrated women.”
In an 18-page countersuit filed in response to a lawsuit* accusing her of “hatching a plot to steal company property and trade secrets” after being removed as CEO last summer, Schinner says things began to deteriorate when Miyoko’s hired René Weber as VP of operations in 2021.
According to Schinner, Weber “immediately began a campaign of mistreating women” at the company “by excluding them from meetings, denying them information they needed, berating them publicly and privately, and otherwise making it difficult to impossible to do their jobs.”
Schinner’s countersuit—filed on Thursday by law firm The Bloom Firm—further alleges that Weber made it “impossible for her to continue to effectively do her job.” According to the lawsuit, Weber “openly denigrated women, their expertise, and their contributions at Miyoko’s, calling some ‘stupid’ and ‘terrible,’” terms Schinner claims Weber did not apply to men.
On several occasions, alleges the suit, Weber “mansplained to Miyoko that she did not understand her own products or Miyoko’s, the company she founded. In a markedly gendered tone, he described her ideas and ambition as unrealistic, driven by emotion and whim.”
On behalf of herself and other women at Miyoko’s, adds the countersuit, Miyoko complained to HR about Weber and John Zabrodsky, an operations consultant she says was hired by Miyoko’s at the behest of investor PowerPlant Partners.
Miyoko’s then “swiftly retaliated against Miyoko by demoting her and then terminating her.”
Her counterclaims against Miyoko’s include gender discrimination, retaliation, and unlawful use of her likeness on the company website without her consent.
Additional coverage includes:
Former Miyoko’s Creamery CEO countersues Petaluma company’s board, alleges gender discrimination and retaliation (The Press Democrat)
Miyoko’s: Schinner Claims Gender Discrimination Was At Root of Her Dismissal (NOSH)
Miyoko’s Creamery legal spat hots up as founder files countersuit (Just Food)