Who knew bond investing was so arousing?

At first glance, TCW Group seems like a fairly staid place to work. Quietly managing $200 billion for the most conservative of institutional investors from sleepy downtown Los Angeles, even the name induces snores, for TCW aren’t the initials of some freewheeling dealmaker from L.A.’s “Chinatown” days, but an acronym for Trust Company of the West.

And yet, behind one door you’ve got the entire contents of a Hollywood adult emporium and dispensary, with women (allegedly) doing naughty things with their undergarments. And behind another, you’ve (allegedly) got this:

Tirschwell said her former boss Jess Ravich, who led TCW’s alternative products group, had coerced her into having sex in return for advancing her career.

Tirscwhell said Ravich made “unwanted” sexual advances in breakfast meetings, where she said he often wore a bathrobe, and that she was “fearful” of refusing to comply, citing threats to deprive her of resources for her fund.

Whether or not any of that happened depends on who you ask (Ravich, who like the proprietor of the alleged room behind the saloon doors at a video store no longer works at TCW, says he was so not into Tirschwell), but even if it did, it’s not worth $30 million in punitive damages.

The judge also said Tirschwell cannot seek punitive damages, because she could not show the defendants acted with “conscious disregard” of her rights…. Tirschwell can still pursue claims that TCW violated a New York City law against sex discrimination and had no contractual right to fire her….

“We’re proceeding forward with the litigation,” a spokesman for Tirschwell said.

New York judge dismisses much of ex-TCW manager’s sexual harassment lawsuit [Reuters]