Track 7 Brewing Lawsuit: Harassment, Retaliation, and Closure

The Track 7 Brewing lawsuit was a 2019 civil case in Sacramento County Superior Court in which co-founders Geoff and Rebecca Scott accused fellow co-founder and CEO Ryan Graham of sexually harassing an administrative assistant and then retaliating against them, including firing them, after they pushed for accountability. The case was dismissed in January 2021 before trial on terms that were not publicly disclosed.¹ The brewery itself permanently closed in May 2025.

What the Scotts Alleged Against Ryan Graham

The complaint described a pattern of sexually inappropriate behavior by Graham toward an administrative assistant that stretched over more than a year. In spring 2015, according to the suit, Graham rifled through the employee’s laundry while riding in her car and repeatedly asked to see her underwear.² In June 2016, the lawsuit alleged he made a suggestive remark about watching the assistant in a private setting. By October 2016, the claims grew more explicit: the suit said Graham put his arms around the assistant and told her he found her too “sexy” to work around.

The complaint also described conduct on a company trip to the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado that October. During a taxi ride, Graham allegedly made graphic comments about nipple color to the assistant and her mother. Around the same period, he reportedly bragged to a manager about the size of his genitals at a Tracktoberfest event.²

Doug Woodward, a former Track 7 director of sales cited as a witness, told CapRadio that Graham was “lucky ‘Me Too’ didn’t happen six months earlier” and confirmed that employees had discussed the allegations after the 2016 trip.³

Graham denied the allegations. In an emailed statement, he said the suit “represents their perspective and we respectfully disagree with the assertions made,” adding that Track 7 would “continue to focus on the great employees and quality products that we provide.”²

The Independent Investigation

In 2017, the Scotts commissioned an independent investigation by the law firm Van Dermyden Maddux LLC. Investigators interviewed ten employees and identified five incidents involving offensive sexual remarks, offensive physical conduct, and hostile or threatening workplace behavior.³ The firm concluded the harassment claims against Graham were “likely valid.”²

Graham was placed on administrative leave during the investigation but was reinstated in January 2017 as the brewery’s “leader and visionary.” The lawsuit alleged that Graham later hired an attorney and reached a confidential settlement with the affected employee in October 2017. Sacramento Bee reporting noted that Sacramento County Superior Court archives contained no record of a separate lawsuit between the assistant and Track 7.²

The Retaliation and Wrongful Termination Claims

The Scotts said that once they pushed to remove Graham from active leadership based on the investigation’s findings, the company turned on them. In early 2018, Geoff Scott was demoted from overseeing day-to-day operations to “packing manager.” When he refused the demotion, Track 7 fired him. Rebecca Scott’s position was eliminated in May 2018.²

Geoff Scott remained a managing member of the company after his firing. That ended in September 2018, the lawsuit said, when Graham and the minority co-owners voted to stop paying him, forcing him to resign his ownership role. The Scotts, who together held a 35% ownership stake alongside the Grahams’ 35%, said they received no compensation as founding investors after their terminations and sought damages reflecting their 40% interest in the company.³

Their attorney, Martin Jensen of Porter Scott, called the situation “ironic,” saying the Scotts had “championed and supported a workplace free from harassment and retaliation” and were themselves retaliated against for trying to hold Graham accountable. Jensen said his clients viewed litigation as “a last resort” and were “saddened and anguished” about the public nature of the dispute.³

How the Case Ended

Geoff and Rebecca Scott filed their complaint on February 19, 2019, naming Ryan Graham and Track 7’s minority owners as defendants. The case never reached trial. A request for dismissal was filed on January 12, 2021, and the notice of dismissal was entered on January 28, 2021.⁴ The terms were not made public, and the available court records do not indicate whether the parties reached a private settlement.¹

What Happened to Track 7 After the Lawsuit

Track 7 shrank in the years after the case ended. Its East Sacramento taproom, open for about four years, closed permanently in late 2022, leaving only the original Curtis Park location and the Natomas taproom.⁵

On Friday, May 30, 2025, employees received a text calling them to a mandatory meeting the next morning. At that meeting, held roughly two hours before the taprooms were scheduled to open, staff learned both locations were closing immediately.⁶ A brief social media post read: “Our brewery & taprooms have permanently closed. Thank you for your years of patronage! It’s been a fun 13 years.” The website was then locked, and social media pages were deleted or made private.

Curtis Park taproom manager Sierra Alvarez told the Sacramento Bee that ownership had been “trying to make things work” for about a year and a half and cited financial struggles as the reason.⁶ The company did not release a formal public statement explaining the decision.⁷ No public account has tied the closure directly to the lawsuit.

1
KCRA. Sacramento Track 7 Brewing Co Closes
2
Sacramento Bee. Track 7 Brewing Co-Founders Sue CEO Alleging Sexual Harassment, Retaliation
3
CapRadio. Couple Who Helped Start Major Sacramento Brewery Accuse Owner of Sexual Harassment, Retaliation, Wrongful Termination
4
UniCourt. Geoff Scott vs Track 7 Brewing Company LLC
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Sacramento Business Journal. Track 7 Brewing East Sac University of Beer
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Sacramento Bee. Track 7 Brewing Co Permanently Closes Sacramento Locations
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Fox 40. Sacramento Track 7 Brewing Permanently Closes Natomas Curtis Park