In January, a massage therapist filed a complaint against James Dolanthe owner of the Knicks, accusing him of “forcing her into unwanted sex nearly a decade ago, while facilitating a meeting with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who she says also sexually assaulted her”.
Judge Percy Anderson, who was tasked with examining the admissibility of the complaint, nevertheless ruled in favor of the businessmanexplaining that the complainant, Kellye Croft, had not “failed to plausibly allege the existence of a commercial sex act in which she was paid for sex, in accordance with federal law”. He therefore dismissed with prejudice his complaint for sex trafficking against James Dolan.
This means that this complaint cannot be refiled in court. However, the judge dismissed without prejudice her claims for sexual assault against James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein, as well as her claims for aiding and abetting sexual assault by James Dolan, which means that she can refile these claims.
Malicious complaints for the defense
Kellye Croft's lawyers have announced their intention to appeal, saying the decision “incorrectly interprets federal sex trafficking law and undermines essential protections.”
On the side of James Dolan's lawyers, we say the opposite “very pleased with the dismissal of the complaint, a malicious attempt to bring forward horrific allegations by a lawyer who is hijacking the legal system for personal gain – he just happens to be the same lawyer in the Charles Oakley case.”
In the defense of the Knicks owner, it is therefore above all a matter of relentlessness on the part of New York lawyers, Douglas Wigdor representing both Charles Oakley and Kellye Croft. But the latter is above all a specialist in sexual assault complaintshaving represented many of Harvey Weinstein's accusers.
Which is also the case for Kellye Croft's other lawyer, Kevin Mintzer, who represented Anucha Browne when she won her sexual harassment lawsuit against Isiah Thomas, then GM of the Knicks. In 2007, James Dolan was ordered to pay more than $11 million in damages for having fired Anucha Browne Sanders following her complaint against Isiah Thomas, who had been retained.
