Staffer in Hilary Franz's office claims retaliation after reporting domestic violence, harassment

Former Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz allegedly ignored abuse by her agency’s top lawyer against a female employee he was dating, a lawsuit claims.

Bailey Boyd, the former deputy director of external affairs at Washington’s Department of Natural Resources, alleges she was in an abusive relationship with Franz’s general counsel, Daniel Teimouri, in 2024 — and told Franz twice.

Teimouri, who is not a defendant in the lawsuit, declined to speak on the record, and his lawyer said in an email that the complaint “contains a multitude of false allegations and assertions.”

Boyd’s complaint says she even called Franz to say Teimouri was hitting her. Franz said in an email to KUOW that Boyd’s allegations were false, but said she hadn’t seen the lawsuit yet.

Franz, the department head from 2017 until this January, allegedly retaliated against Boyd by excluding her from meetings and travel — even after Teimouri left the department around May of 2024 to take another job. The Department of Natural Resources does not comment on active litigation.

Teimouri was arrested last July, about two months after leaving the department for another job, when Boyd called police on him. He pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of domestic violence assault this April, was sentenced to 60 days of electronic home monitoring and five years of probation, and has a no-contact order on him for Boyd, Olympia’s chief prosecutor told KUOW.

“He did everything he could to isolate me from my friends, family, and co-workers,” Boyd said in court during Teimouri’s sentencing in April, alleging Teimouri broke her nose and gave her a black eye. “During this time, Dan would not allow me to see anyone because the injury was so apparent.”

Boyd posted audio of that entire statement, and a photo of her apparently bruised face, on Instagram.

Boyd’s lawyers filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court last month against the Department of Natural Resources and Franz, who didn’t run for reelection last year and instead made a brief bid for governor before dropping out and launching a campaign for Congress that was ultimately unsuccessful. Boyd’s lawyers allege that Franz protected Teimouri.

Internal policies shared by the Department of Natural Resources say supervisors are required to intervene “quickly and effectively to address uncivil, disrespectful or abusive behavior,” and support any employee who asks for assistance.

Franz helmed Washington Department of Natural Resources as the elected Commissioner of Public Lands for two terms, managing the state’s wildfire response and publicly held forests and waters. Teimouri was a donor to Franz the last several years, giving a total of about $1,000 to her reelection campaign, her short-lived gubernatorial run, and her failed Congressional bid.

Franz told the Columbia Basin Herald last month she doesn’t plan to hold elected office again, though she’s remained active in the wildfire preparedness space since leaving the public lands department, organizing and meeting with fire chiefs and state representatives, writing an op-ed in an aerial firefighting magazine and appearing on a forestry podcast.

The lawsuit

Boyd’s lawsuit says she started dating Teimouri around three months after she was hired in 2023. Teimouri told Boyd that the department’s human resources had “signed off” on the relationship, the lawsuit says.

Boyd alleges Teimouri grew controlling, threatening to get Boyd fired if she didn’t do whatever he demanded, including kissing him at work and not speaking to certain male coworkers.

Jason Rittereiser, Boyd’s lawyer, said there are audio recordings of Teimouri’s threats to get Boyd fired. He declined to share them with reporters because he said they contain "sensitive information and evidence that will be the focus of litigation and may be subject to a protective order."

To keep Boyd from reporting his abuse, Teimouri allegedly drafted an email to Franz and other supervisors falsely accusing Boyd of using racial slurs. Teimouri showed the draft to Boyd and threatened to send it to Franz when Boyd considered reporting him, the lawsuit says.

Teimouri began hitting and choking Boyd, the lawsuit alleges, and threatening her with AR-15s he owned.

In February 2024, Franz asked Boyd to join her at a “dinner event,” the lawsuit says. Teimouri allegedly demanded Boyd stay with him that evening at his home, but Boyd went to the event. Teimouri “repeatedly” called and texted her while she was there, allegedly threatening to commit suicide.

Boyd showed Franz “some of” the texts and reported “some of” the abuse, the lawsuit says. But Franz responded by saying that Teimouri “engaged in similar behavior with his previous girlfriend” who also worked for Franz, the lawsuit claims. (Lawyers for Boyd declined to share which texts were shown to Franz, and Boyd declined an interview.)

The next month, Boyd called Franz and told the then-commissioner that Teimouri was hitting her and that she didn’t feel safe. Teimouri allegedly overheard the call, snatched the phone away and threw Boyd down the stairs.

“None of what you state is true,” Franz told KUOW via email when asked if this call took place, and if Boyd showed her Teimouri’s texts.

But the lawsuit alleges Franz instead retaliated against Boyd. For the first “several months” of her work at the department, Boyd said she frequently traveled with Franz around Washington state, joining meetings with prominent public figures “at public and private events.”

After the call, Franz allegedly stopped inviting Boyd to any state travel or to join her for important meetings.

“Franz barely spoke to Plaintiff after Plaintiff’s second report,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says Teimouri’s duties did not change.

If the case isn’t settled, arbitrated, or otherwise resolved, a trial is scheduled for next July.

This story was reported in collaboration with Seattle Times reporter Jim Brunner.