Decide dismisses federal lawsuit towards Dolan

A decide on Tuesday dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by a lady who accused James Dolan, chairman of Madison Sq. Backyard and governor of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, of undesirable intercourse almost 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 Decide in California, in keeping with a three-page submitting Tuesday evening that was obtained by ESPN.

The lawsuit was originally filed in January by a Tennessee girl named Kellye Croft who mentioned she was 27 and dealing as a licensed therapeutic massage therapist when she met Dolan within the fall of 2013 whereas on a 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 criticism from April, she claimed constituted intercourse trafficking — a federal crime.

In Los Angeles, Croft alleged that she met Weinstein at The Beverly Hills Resort the place Dolan was paying for her to remain. Weinstein, she alleged, launched himself as one among Dolan’s “greatest associates,” then requested whether or not she was the therapeutic massage therapist that Dolan had talked about and beforehand praised.

She accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her on the lodge, 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 reviews in 2017 by each The New York Occasions 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 girls. In 2018, Dolan, who served as a member of the board of administrators of The Weinstein Firm in 2015 and 2016, launched a tune along with his band titled, “I Ought to’ve Recognized,” which he later related, partially, to Weinstein.

ESPN sometimes doesn’t identify victims of 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.

The decide dismissed her declare of intercourse trafficking with prejudice, that means it can’t be filed once more. Her further 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, that means she may file these claims once more.

Moreover, the decide ordered her to pay for the prices of the defendants’ authorized charges.

“We respectfully disagree with the District Court docket’s determination, which we imagine incorrectly interprets the federal intercourse trafficking legislation 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 can be interesting this determination and are assured that the Court docket of Appeals will right this injustice. We will even proceed to pursue Ms. Croft’s sexual battery claims towards James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein, which stay unaffected by the [Tuesday’s] determination. Our battle for Ms. Croft is simply starting.”

Representatives for Dolan and Weinstein, respectively, did not instantly reply to a request for remark.