A month after WellPoint Inc. ousted David C. Colby, the nation's largest health insurer is being dogged by salacious allegations about his personal life -- and charges that it was negligent.
The company, which owns Blue Cross of California, was named as a defendant Thursday in a lawsuit that accuses Colby of sexual battery, breach of contract and infliction of emotional distress.
Sarah Waugh, who worked for WellPoint when it was called WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and headquartered in Thousand Oaks, says in the suit that while Colby was the company's chief financial officer, he maintained "concurrent relationships" with her and more than 15 other women and "acted with the intent to cause" her harm.
Waugh seeks unspecified damages for "humiliation, mental anguish and emotional and physical distress." WellPoint, her suit suggests, was aware of Colby's alleged romantic entanglements but did nothing to protect her.
Colby, 53, was let go May 30 for what the company, now based in Indianapolis, called nonbusiness-related violations of its code of conduct.
A lawyer for Colby didn't return phone calls. A WellPoint spokesman declined to comment on the suit, which was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
In the suit, Waugh, 29, says she began dating Colby in 2001, when she worked for WellPoint. Their relationship continued after she left the company, the suit says, and Colby sent her an "almost constant stream of e-mails and text messages, and repeatedly professed his desire for unprotected sex in a committed monogamous relationship."
He wasn't faithful, the suit claims, and engaged in "high-risk sexual practices with others ... some of whom have contracted STDs" -- sexually transmitted diseases. WellPoint "facilitated defendant Colby's lifestyle," the suit says, with company employees arranging personal and business trips for Waugh and other women who traveled with Colby -- including her younger sister, Jessica -- and with high-level employees often traveling with Colby and the women.
At the same time, the suit says, WellPoint "benefited from the outward appearance of respectability and propriety of their CFO."
A Wall Street favorite, Colby was widely credited with the financial success of the healthcare giant. He earned a salary of $740,000. Two months before his ouster, the board gave him the title of vice chairman and stock options then worth $1.7 million. Since June 15, he has sold more than $100 million worth of WellPoint stock, the suit claims.
