An attorney for the plaintiff’s estate ended the lawsuit with prejudice.
A lawsuit against disgraced actor Kevin Spacey has been dropped after the anonymous accuser’s death.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit was filed in 2016 by a massage therapist who claims Spacey sexually assaulted him. While Spacey’s accuser unexpectedly passed away in late 2019, the plaintiff’s estate continued the suit for several months afterward.
But a December 31st motion saw the suit’s voluntary dismissal. The Times says it was discarded with prejudice, meaning it can’t be brought back before the court.
The L.A. Times notes that Sky Alves, a special administrator and legal representative for the late masseuse’s estate, assumed the role of plaintiff after the death of ‘John Doe.’
“Alves and [Spacey] Fowler, acting through counsel […] stipulate and agree to the dismissal with prejudice of this action, including all claims stated against all parties, with each party to bear his or its own attorneys’ fees and costs,” the motion for dismissal said. “The dismissal with prejudice shall occur immediately upon substitution of Alves as plaintiff.”
The L.A. Times adds that the lawsuit, filed in civil court, alleged that Spacey had “forced” the masseuse to touch his genitals during an in-home treatment. Spacey has denied the allegations; his attorneys stress that the actor’s admitted no wrongdoing or paid any sum to encourage the dismissal.
“The plaintiff’s estate simply decided to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be [refiled], and we agreed to the dismissal,” said Spacey attorney Jennifer L. Keller.
“Mr. Spacey paid no money to the plaintiff,” Keller said. “The plaintiff wished to dismiss the case and we stipulated to the dismissal to speed things up. What you see in the stipulation is all there is to see. Any reports to the contrary are false.”
Spacey, says the L.A. Times, was also facing criminal charges, brought by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. However, the D.A. dropped its case in October, given that “allegations cannot be proven without the participation of the victim.”
However, Spacey’s legal and personal woes are far from over. The former ‘House of Cards’ star faced numerous lawsuits during the #MeToo movement’s heyday. While some suits were dropped over the summer, Spacey remains under investigation in London for alleged sexual assaults.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Spacey attracted “intense scrutiny” after BuzzFeed published a damning report in October 2017. In its article, BuzzFeed interviewed actor Anthony Rapp, who said he’d been sexually harassed by Spacey at a party in 1986, when Rapp was only 14 years old. Shortly after its publication, Spacey lost his leading role in ‘House of Cards,’ as well as a spot in ‘All the Money in the World.’
Sources
Kevin Spacey, Late Accuser’s Estate Ask Court To Dismiss Sexual Assault Lawsuit
Lawsuit accusing Kevin Spacey of groping is dismissed after accuser’s death
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