Kraftwerk K9 in Rochester owes over $220,932.50 to Thurston County Superior Court after three former employees successfully sued the business on the allegations that Curry fired them in 2019 as retaliation for reporting sexual harassment in the workplace.
The litigation came to light after Kraftwerk K9 owner Wayne Curry was arrested on Tuesday for manslaughter following the shooting death of one of his employees during a recording for a video advertisement. Curry is being held in Thurston County Jail on $250,000 bail. Read more about that here.
Three women who were fired from Kraftwerk K9 in August 2019 filed a civil lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court against the business on Sept. 15, 2021, according to court documents.
Two of the women formally reported to management “numerous examples of sexual harassment” by a male employee in the workplace on Aug. 14, 2019, according to the complaint filed in Thurston County Superior Court.
Both women were fired from Kraftwerk K9 later that day. When asked why they were being fired, the manager reportedly said “he (Wayne Curry) ‘didn’t need them.’”
The manager, who was fired on Aug. 21, 2019, after making a separate report of ongoing sexual harassment in the workplace by that same male employee on Aug. 16, reported that when she took the initial complaints made on Aug. 14 to Curry, Curry “requested” that the manager “get rid” of the two women who made the reports, according to court documents.
A fourth female employee also reported sexual harassment in the workplace by that same male employee on Aug. 16, but court records did not indicate that that fourth employee, who was not a party in the lawsuit, had been fired.
The lawsuit alleged that Kraftwerk K9 had violated Washington state discrimination law by creating a hostile work environment, stating, “The defendant corporation knew or should have known that its employee was sexually harassing Plaintiffs and creating a hostile work environment for Plaintiffs.”
The lawsuit also alleged that Kraftwerk K9’s decision to fire the three employee who reported sexual harassment was “unlawful retaliation” and “wrongful discharge against public policy.”
The case went to trial in November 2024, with a 12-person jury ruling Nov. 7 in favor of the plaintiffs for a sum of $176,353, with an interest rate of 12% according to court documents.
In an amended verdict delivered on Dec. 19, 2024, a Thurston County Superior Court judge added $42,895 in attorney fees and $1,684.50 in additional costs to the judgment amount, for a total of $220,932.50 owed to the court.
The attorney for the plaintiffs, Matthew Ennis of Hager & Ennis LLP, told The Chronicle on Thursday, “Kraftwerk K9 has so far avoided paying. Kraftwerk K9 changed their name and legal entity following our successful verdict to avoid paying on the judgment. I was scheduled to take Wayne Curry's deposition later this month.”
Court documents and previous Chronicle reporting list Kraftwerk K9’s legal name as “Kraftwerk K9 Inc.” The business’s website currently lists its name as “Kraftwerk K9 Pro.”
A writ of garnishment, a court order that allows a creditor to seize property or other assets from a debtor to satisfy a debt, was filed in Thurston County Superior Court on April 7.
Curry and Kraftwerk K9 were previously sued by another dog breeder in Florida, Donald Spear, in April 2021 over Kraftwerk K9 breaching a contract for purchase of a female dog, who Spear found after purchase had severe deformities and ultimately had to be euthanized. The court ruled in Spear’s favor, but Curry successfully appealed the decision in 2023.
Curry has been a full-time dog trainer and breeder since 1987, when he left a Boeing job to found Kraftwerk K9. Kraftwerk K9 prioritizes breeding and training German shepherds in tracking, obedience and protection, with clients including police departments adding K9 units and civilians seeking guard dogs, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Approximately a dozen reviews from former Kraftwerk K9 employees on the company review site Glassdoor posted between 2016 and 2024 cite concerns about Curry abusing dogs in his care, mistreating employees and creating unsafe working conditions.
The Better Business Bureau has documented three complaints filed against Kraftwerk K9, one of which has been unresolved. The details of those complaints were not publicly available as of Wednesday afternoon.
Curry and Kraftwerk K9 were sued by another dog breeder in Florida, Donald Spear, in April 2021 over Kraftwerk K9 breaching a contract for purchase of a female dog, who Spear found after purchase had severe deformities and ultimately had to be euthanized. The court ruled in Spear’s favor, but Curry successfully appealed the decision in 2023.
