Tommy Lee wins verdict in 2003 helicopter sexual assault lawsuit

A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee of sexually assaulting a woman in a helicopter in 2003, ruling that her lawsuit was filed too late.

The case against Lee, brought last year by an anonymous Jane Doe accuser, was filed under a newly enacted California law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on years-old sexual assault cases – one of several such laws passed in recent years were adopted across the country.

But in a decision issued Monday, Judge Holly J. Fujie ruled that Lee’s accuser had failed to prove that Lee’s alleged attack was followed by any type of “cover-up” – a key requirement of the provision she cited.

“The Court finds that Plaintiff has not pleaded sufficient facts to support the necessary ‘cover-up’ theory because Plaintiff has not pleaded any facts substantiating Defendant’s concerted effort to produce evidence relating to sexual assault hide,” the judge wrote. “Instead, plaintiff makes vague allegations that the court finds insufficient to support revival of a lawsuit.”

Although the verdict represents a setback for Lee’s accusers, the case is not yet over. The judge gave her and her lawyers 20 days to file an updated version of her complaint if she has additional information that would address the deficiencies in her case. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In her December lawsuit, the Jane Doe plaintiff alleged that she was tricked by Lee’s personal helicopter pilot “under false pretenses” into taking a flight from San Diego to Los Angeles in February 2003, “consuming several alcoholic drinks, smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine.” , before the rock star attacked her.

“Tommy Lee then proceeded to sexually abuse Plaintiff by forcibly groping her, kissing her, penetrating her with his fingers, and attempting to force her to perform oral copulation,” her attorneys wrote. “As a result of Tommy Lee’s sexual assault, plaintiff has suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological distress.”

The case, over an incident that allegedly occurred more than two decades ago, was filed under the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act — a California law that, starting last year, gave alleged survivors a three-year window to file sexual assault lawsuits normally through the limitation period is excluded.

The case against Lee was one of many cases filed during the “look-back windows” created by similar laws, including New York’s Adult Survivors Act. Just before that law expired in November, a flood of years-long abuse cases reached the courts, most notably against Sean “Diddy” Combs.

However, such laws impose strict requirements. In the case of the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, an alleged victim must prove that the defendant “conducted or attempted a cover-up,” that is, a “concerted effort to conceal evidence relating to a sexual assault or similar.” inappropriate behavior” or behavior that “induces individuals to remain silent.”

In her complaint, Lee’s accuser alleged that the drummer and other defendants “made a concerted effort to prevent information or evidence of such sexual assaults from being published or disclosed to anyone.” But in her ruling on Monday, Judge Fujie said it was not enough to simply clarify the law’s requirements.

“These allegations are conclusive in nature and do not constitute specific actions directed against plaintiff,” the judge wrote. “Therefore, the plaintiff’s alleged lawsuit is actually time-barred.”

In a statement about it billboardLee’s lawyer Sasha Frid said: “We welcome the court’s decision. The court was correct in finding that the plaintiff could not assert a claim against Tommy Lee. Mr. Lee has vehemently denied these false and false allegations from the outset.”