A decide on Tuesday dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by a girl who accused James Dolan, chairman of Madison Sq. Backyard and governor of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, of undesirable intercourse practically a decade in the past whereas additionally alleging that Dolan facilitated an encounter with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, whom she additionally claimed sexually assaulted her.
The lawsuit was dismissed by a U.S. District Court docket decide in California, in accordance with a three-page submitting Tuesday evening that was obtained by ESPN.
The lawsuit was initially filed in January by a Tennessee lady named Kellye Croft who stated she was 27 and dealing as a licensed therapeutic massage therapist when she met Dolan in fall 2013 whereas he was on tour with a rock band, the Eagles. (Dolan’s band, JD & The Straight Shot, opened for the Eagles in the course of the tour.)
She alleged that Dolan pressured her into undesirable sexual activity with him. She additionally alleged that in January 2014, Dolan helped prepare for her to journey to Los Angeles to affix the tour, which, in an amended model of her grievance from April, she claimed constituted intercourse trafficking — a federal crime.
In Los Angeles, Croft alleged that she met Weinstein at The Beverly Hills Lodge, the place Dolan was paying for her to remain. Weinstein, she alleged, launched himself as certainly one of Dolan’s “finest buddies,” then requested whether or not she was the therapeutic massage therapist Dolan had talked about and beforehand praised.
She accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her on the resort, after which she knowledgeable Dolan, who allegedly responded by telling her that Weinstein was “a troubled individual” with “severe points.” The incident predated Weinstein being convicted for years of sexual abuse following investigative studies in 2017 by The New York Instances and The New Yorker.
That alleged incident additionally predated remarks by Dolan that he was unaware Weinstein, who had been a detailed pal, was allegedly a serial abuser of ladies. In 2018, Dolan, who served as a member of the board of administrators of The Weinstein Firm in 2015 and 2016, launched a track along with his band titled, “I Ought to’ve Recognized,” which he later linked, partially, to Weinstein.
ESPN usually doesn’t identify victims of alleged sexual assaults, however Croft issued a public assertion when her lawsuit was filed. Croft sought a jury trial and unspecified damages. Attorneys for Dolan and Weinstein each filed subsequent motions to have the case dismissed.
U.S. District Decide Percy Anderson dismissed Croft’s declare of intercourse trafficking with prejudice, which means it can’t be filed once more. Her claims of sexual battery towards Dolan, sexual assault by Weinstein and aiding and abetting of sexual assault by Dolan have been dismissed with out prejudice, which means she may file these claims once more.
Moreover, the decide ordered her to pay the defendants’ courtroom prices.
“We respectfully disagree with the District Court docket’s determination, which we imagine incorrectly interprets the federal intercourse trafficking regulation and undermines critically essential protections for intercourse trafficking survivors,” Croft’s attorneys, Kevin Mintzer and Meredith Firetog, wrote in an e-mail to ESPN. “We shall be interesting this determination and are assured that the Court docket of Appeals will right this injustice. We can even proceed to pursue Ms. Croft’s sexual battery claims towards James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein, which stay unaffected by [Tuesday’s] determination. Our struggle for Ms. Croft is simply starting.”
“We’re more than happy with the dismissal of the lawsuit, which was a malicious try to say horrific allegations by an legal professional who subverts the authorized system for private achieve — this additionally occurs to be the identical legal professional within the Charles Oakley case,” a spokesperson for Dolan stated in an announcement.
The lawsuit referenced stems from Oakley, a former Knicks participant, being ejected from Madison Sq. Backyard in 2017. A federal decide lately stated Dolan should sit for a deposition within the case.
A consultant for Weinstein did not instantly reply to a request for remark.