This story contains descriptions of domestic abuse. If you or someone you know may be a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling or texting 800-799-7233.

A woman who worked previously for Washington’s Department of Natural Resources is suing the agency and former state Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz, accusing them of allowing a top attorney at the department to carry out a campaign of harassment, intimidation and abuse against her.

Franz is accused of protecting former Department of Natural Resources General Counsel Daniel Teimouri by failing to intervene after Bailey Boyd, then-deputy director of external affairs, reported that Teimouri was abusing her. Teimouri and Boyd were dating at the time.

Franz is also accused of retaliating against Boyd by drastically reducing her job responsibilities after she reported the abuse.

Boyd, represented by HKM Employment Attorneys LLP, filed suit against Franz and the Department of Natural Resources in King County Superior Court on July 24.

Boyd is seeking unspecified compensation for economic damages and for “pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, and humiliation” as well as reasonable attorneys fees and costs.

A trial is scheduled for July 27, 2026.

The Department of Natural Resources declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

Franz denied the allegations in an emailed statement last week.

“Anyone who knows me and my work representing survivors of domestic violence knows these claims are untrue. I am confident that the truth will prevail,” Franz said.

Franz served as Washington’s commissioner of public lands from January 2017 to January 2025. In 2023, she began to run for governor, then dropped out of that race and vied unsuccessfully last year for an open U.S. House seat in the 6th Congressional District.

Teimouri served as general counsel for the Department of Natural Resources from October 2022 to May 2024, when he voluntarily resigned to accept another job, according to the lawsuit.

Teimouri could not be reached through his attorney for comment, but his attorney has previously stated that the lawsuit “contains a multitude of false allegations.”

Boyd was in a romantic relationship with Teimouri between September 2023 and July 2024, according to the lawsuit.

Boyd described her relationship with Teimouri as physically, sexually and emotionally abusive, with Teimouri frequently threatening to get Boyd fired from her job if she did not comply with his demands.

The complaint says Boyd reported the abuse to Franz during a dinner event on Feb. 2, 2024, and showed Franz some of the threatening text messages she had received from Teimouri.

Franz allegedly responded by telling Boyd that Teimouri engaged in similar behavior with his previous girlfriend, who also worked under Franz at the Department of Natural Resources.

Boyd said she again reported the ongoing abuse to Franz on March 9, 2024, after Teimouri allegedly hit her multiple times.

Boyd called Franz instead of the police immediately after the incident out of fear of losing her job, according to the lawsuit. Teimouri allegedly took the phone from Boyd while she was on the phone with Franz and threw Boyd down the stairs in retaliation.

In addition to taking no steps to intervene, Boyd alleges that Franz reduced her responsibilities at the department.

Teimouri’s job duties, however, were not changed after Boyd reported the abuse, the lawsuit alleges.

Even after Teimouri left the Department of Natural Resources, he continued threatening to get Boyd fired through his relationship with Franz’s chief of staff, Boyd’s lawsuit claims.

Franz denied that Boyd ever reported the abuse to her, calling the allegations “false and completely unsubstantiated.”

Teimouri was arrested for attempting to suffocate Boyd on July 13, 2024, at which point Boyd said she was able to escape the relationship.

At the time of Teimouri’s arrest, officers documented a black eye Boyd received when Teimouri allegedly assaulted her on July 3.

Police records indicate that Boyd told officers she didn’t report the July 3 assault to police because “she was afraid it would ruin Teimouri’s career.”

Boyd reportedly told officers that Teimouri had a history of aggression and violence toward her, saying his abuse increased around December of 2023, when he reportedly stopped using marijuana.

Teimouri was reportedly drunk at the time of the July 13 incident, which officers noted “may have been a contributing factor to his behavior.”

When interviewed by officers, Teimouri reportedly described his relationship with Boyd as “good at times and tumultuous at times.”

Boyd reported that most executive management employees at the Department of Natural Resources expressed sympathy to her about Teimouri’s abuse following his arrest. But Boyd said Franz never spoke to her about Teimouri after his arrest and continued to retaliate against her by not allowing her to travel or join meetings.

Franz’s retaliatory behavior continued until her time as lands commissioner ended in January, Boyd claims in the lawsuit.

Boyd left her position with the Department of Natural Resources around the same time.

She could not be reached through her attorney for comment on this case.

Teimouri pleaded guilty on April 14, in Olympia Municipal Court to one count of fourth-degree assault, domestic violence.

He was sentenced to 60 days on electronic home monitoring, with an additional 302 days of jail time suspended for five years.

He was also ordered to pay a $1,358 fine and complete a domestic violence treatment program.

A no-contact order preventing Teimouri from having any contact with Boyd for the next five years is in effect.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/21/natural-resources-washington-abuse-lawsuit-franz/