Russell Simmons Request To Make Anonymous Sexual Assault Accuser Pay Sanctions In $10 Mill Lawsuit Denied
Russell Simmons Request To Make Anonymous Sexual Assault Accuser Pay Sanctions In $10 Mill Lawsuit Denied
According to reports, Russell Simmons attempted to get a judge to order a woman who accused him of sexual assault to pay sanctions. But a judge sided with the woman, whose identity has been concealed, and denied Simmons’ motion for the third time. Simmons’ attempt to use the argument that the claims against him were outside of the allowed statute of limitations has fallen short. The judge said that the Hip-Hop mogul failed to provide enough evidence to back his claims that the statute had actually run out.
The discrepancy came in Simmons’ court documents from December 21, 2018 that says,
“[the woman’s] complaint is based on the outrageous and fictional claim that Mr. Simmons raped her in Sacramento, California in 1988 after threatening to molest her son. The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim under California law is two years.”
While this might be true, the judge pointed out that Simmons didn’t even show that he lived in or visited California.
This lawsuit has been going on since March 2018. That’s when the woman revealed her claims that Simmons allegedly assaulted her in the late 80s, and threatened to do the same to her son if she didn’t go along with it. She sued him for $10 million.
Her lawyer also spoke out in court amid the judge’s denial of sanctions against her.
“Remarkably, while the motion argues that the complaint lacks merit, Russell Simmons does not even file a declaration with the court denying that he raped [her]. Having fled the jurisdiction — demonstrating both a lack of courage and a lack of responsibility to his victims, Russell Simmons won’t even sign a declaration denying the sexual assault. Yet he asks the court to find the claims have no merit.”
The lawyer explained,
“We are gratified that the court has now — for the third time — refused to dismiss Ms. Doe’s case and refused to sanction Ms. Doe or her lawyer for filing it. While claiming that the case lacks merit, Mr. Simmons refused to file a declaration under penalty of perjury stating that he had not raped the plaintiff. This speaks volumes and we look forward to a trial where plaintiff and her corroborating witnesses will testify.”
Simmons appeared hopeful about the case, saying in a statement:
“Today was a good day in court. The judge suggested we file a summary judgment motion for dismissal based on the California Statue of Limitations, which is two years. The plaintiff herself admitted that the alleged incident happened 31 years ago. The fact is her allegations are false. Still, this attempt at extortion is at its end. It’s a matter of paper work. I’m glad to be on the road to putting this behind me.”
Simmons faced multiple sexual assault allegations during the heat of the #MeToo movement in which several Hollywood and music industry executives were being accused of assaulting women. One of his previous cases, a $5 million lawsuit from accuser Jennifer Harosik, was dropped in April 2018. While she said he assaulted her, he insisted their encounter was consensual.
After facing multiple allegations, Simmons launched a #NotMe campaign, but later dropped it.