Former Below Deck crew members Grey Duddleston and Samantha Suarez have tentatively settled claims against NBCUniversal, Bravo Media and Mountain View Productions, according to MyNewsLA. A hearing on the settlement’s status is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2027, and the parties expect to seek dismissal by Jan. 15, the outlet reported. Terms have not been disclosed, so the agreement’s scope and any resolution of particular claims remain unknown.
The tentative settlement follows a dispute over where Duddleston’s claims could be heard. Mountain View Productions cited a May 2022 work agreement requiring disputes to go to arbitration. In February 2026, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Wendy Chang ruled that Duddleston’s claims could proceed in court under the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, Deadline reported. The law defines a “sexual assault dispute” to include disputes involving nonconsensual sexual acts or contact, including when a victim lacks capacity to consent, according to Congress’s text. The available account of the ruling does not detail the statute’s broader effective-date limits.
The arbitration issue has a limited parallel in another reality-TV dispute: USA TODAY reported that Love Is Blind contestant Renee Poche filed a separate lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in January 2024, challenging arbitration initiated by production company Delirium TV and raising claims about production safety during filming in Mexico. Poche was a contestant, not a production crew member, and her allegations are not findings in the Below Deck case. The comparison illustrates another dispute over arbitration and production, but does not establish a broader trend.
The claims and the unresolved California-law question
Duddleston and Suarez filed suit in March 2025 against NBCUniversal, Bravo Media, Mountain View Productions and Below Deck cast member Gary King. They alleged sexual battery, retaliation, harassment, and negligent hiring, retention and supervision, according to MyNewsLA. The allegations have not been established in court.
Suarez, a hair-and-makeup artist, alleged that during production of the show’s fourth season in summer 2022, she brought water and snacks to King’s hotel room, where he answered in his underwear. She said he refused the items, then lunged at and restrained her when she tried to leave. Suarez said she reported the encounter and King was not fired, MyNewsLA reported. Duddleston, a camera operator, alleged that after he reported King’s conduct over the crew’s walkie-talkie system, he was investigated for using it improperly. Both plaintiffs said they were later terminated and had difficulty finding work in their field.
The companies’ arbitration argument was not the only procedural dispute. Attorneys also challenged whether California law could apply to Suarez’s claims, arguing that she lives in Georgia and that the alleged conduct took place on the Mediterranean coast, according to MyNewsLA and Deadline. That challenge is distinct from Chang’s ruling on Duddleston’s arbitration claims.
What California guidance says—and does not decide
As general context, the California Civil Rights Department says state law protects most employees and job applicants from retaliation for opposing workplace harassment or other illegal activity. Its factsheet says a retaliation claim requires protected activity, work-related harm and a connection between them. The department’s employer guide says reports alleging conduct that, if true, would violate company policy or the law should be investigated. That guidance does not establish what happened in this case or resolve the dispute over whether California law applies to Suarez’s claims.
