AUBURN – A former worker at a Turner apple orchard is suing the company for damages she said she suffered after a supervisor allegedly struck her with his cane.

Joanne Keene, 55, of Turner said she was packing apples when Donald Ricker hit her on the buttock and crotch area with his cane.

In the lawsuit, filed recently in Androscoggin County Superior Court, she is claiming:

• assault;

• negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress; and

• defamation.

Keene is seeking punitive damages, costs and interest on all counts.

She names Donald and Harry Ricker as defendants, along with Ricker Hill Packing.

In an “alternative” count, Keene holds the two Rickers personally liable, aside from their roles as employees of Ricker Hill Packing.

Contacted Wednesday, Keene said she had worked at the packing plant for 17 years. On Dec. 1, Donald Ricker started talking to her while she was packing apples. At one point, she leaned over to retrieve a box. He yelled and struck her with one of his two canes, she said.

Other workers witnessed the incident, said her lawyer, Sumner Lipman of Augusta.

“Physical abuse of employees went out with the turn of the 19th century,” Lipman said in a written statement. “For some reason, the message hasn’t reached Turner, Maine.”

Keene contacted police, who charged Ricker with assault. He later paid a $75 filing fee and the Androscoggin County District Attorney’s Office put the case on hold for six months. If Ricker commits a criminal act during that time, the DA’s office can bring back the charge. Otherwise, it will be dropped, said a clerk at 8th District Court in Lewiston.

Keene said the attack was unprovoked. She said she thinks Ricker was annoyed because he thought she was ignoring him when she turned away and bent over to get the box.

She sought medical treatment for the injury, she said. A doctor told her she suffered a bruise. It was “very tender” for nearly a week, she said.

The suit claims Donald Ricker told the Maine Workers’ Compensation Board that he suspected Keene and her husband, Roger, had “conspired to cause the injury” and blamed it on Ricker. Those statements were “false and defamatory without any factual basis,” according to the suit.

Contacted by phone earlier this week, Ricker referred questions to his Lewiston lawyer, Jeffrey Parsons. Parsons, who is representing the defendants, said Wednesday he planned to file a response to the complaint in a timely manner, but couldn’t comment on pending litigation.

“There are two sides to every story,” he said.