Barnes & Noble Inc. alleged in a court filing Tuesday that Demos Parneros, its former chief executive, was justifiably fired in early July because he sexually harassed a female employee, bullied other staffers and undermined the potential sale of the book retailer to an unidentified party earlier this year. 
 
 In August, Mr. Parneros, who didn’t receive severance pay, filed a complaint stating that he had been fired “without warning or justification” and that his reputation was tarnished because the bookseller created the... 

 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc on Tuesday filed a countersuit seeking damages from the former chief executive officer it fired in part because of claims he sexually harassed a female employee. 
 
 FILE PHOTO: A woman looks in from a window panel of a Barnes & Noble store in New York October 24, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 
 
 The largest U.S. bookstore chain said Demos Parneros breached his duties of loyalty and good faith by sexually harassing the female employee, bullying subordinates, and attempting to “sabotage” a potential sale of the New York-based company. 
 
 In a statement, Parneros rejected Barnes & Noble’s accusations. He said he never bullied anyone, called the sexual harassment claim “completely false,” and said he was “fully supportive of the sales process from the start”. 
 
 Parneros had accused Barnes & Noble of breach of contract and defamation in his Aug. 28 lawsuit, saying the company and Leonard Riggio, its founder and largest shareholder, made up reasons to fire him in July after just 14 months. 
 
 He sought more than $4 million of severance plus other damages. 
 
 In its countersuit, Barnes & Noble said Parneros’ lawsuit “downplays what occurred,” and that the company should recoup his salary, bonus and other benefits during the period of his “disloyal conduct” and cancel his outstanding equity awards. 
 
 Barnes & Noble said the female employee reported two incidents in which Parneros allegedly subjected her to unwanted touching or comments of a sexual nature. 
 
 It said that in the second incident, Parneros allegedly pulled the employee toward him so their faces touched, and as she tried to pull away he said she seemed like someone who “would put out” if he “wined and dined” her. 
 
 Barnes & Noble also said Parneros derailed a takeover that would have cost him the CEO role, after portraying the company as an “ugly mess” that had “no realistic prospects for success” in a June meeting with executives of the potential acquirer. 
 
 According to the countersuit, Barnes & Noble has received “additional complaints about Parneros’ inappropriate behavior toward women” at the company since his termination. Barnes & Noble declined to elaborate. 
 
 The company is now considering its options, which could include a sale, and in July appointed a three-person leadership group to share the CEO duties until a replacement for Parneros could be found. Riggio remained executive chairman. 
 
 Barnes & Noble’s share price has fallen by nearly two-thirds since July 2015. It has struggled with falling sales and foot traffic amid competition from rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. 
 
 The case is Parneros v Barnes & Noble Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-07834.
– Barnes & Noble fired Demos Parneros in July. He sued Barnes & Noble over the firing in August. Now Barnes & Noble is hitting back: The bookseller is countersuing Parneros, claiming its former CEO "breached his duties of loyalty and good faith," per Reuters. He did so, B&N says, by allegedly sexually harassing a female employee, bullying workers under him, and trying to "sabotage" a potential sale of the company. B&N originally had not specified why Pareneros, who did not receive severance, was fired, the Wall Street Journal reports. Parneros initially sued because, he claimed, the company fired him for no reason after just 14 months on the job; B&N says in its suit that Parneros "downplays what occurred." Now, in response to the bookseller's countersuit, he has issued a statement denying all of the company's allegations. The sexual harassment claim is "completely false" and he never bullied anyone, he says, adding that he was also "fully supportive of the sales process from the start." But B&N says that in addition to the female employee who says that, on two occasions, Parneros subjected her to unwanted touching or sexual comments, the company has received "additional complaints about Parneros’ inappropriate behavior toward women" since he was fired. Pareneros' suit sought $4 million in severance plus other damages; B&N's suit says the company should be allowed to recoup Pareneros' salary, bonus, and any other benefits accrued during the time his "disloyal conduct" was allegedly occurring, plus cancel his outstanding equity awards. (An Alphabet exec is also out without an exit package after claims of sexual harassment.)