A New York is siding with Drew Dixon by denying L.A. Reid’s motion to dismiss her assault lawsuit.
L.A. Reid’s attempt to get Drew Dixon’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed has been denied.
Judge Caproni determined that Dixon’s claims of false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress were not barred by the statute of limitations under the New York Adult Survivors Act. Additionally, the judge found that the events described in the complaint had a significant connection to the Southern District of New York, where the lawsuit was filed.
“The coordination of the retreat has a ‘close nexus to’ Plaintiff’s false imprisonment claim as the acts about which she complains occurred on the flight that was arranged in New York,” the judge wrote.
“While the Complaint does not specifically allege that Defendant instructed [Arista executive Karen] Kwak to tell Plaintiff that other executives would be on the flight, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff, the Court can infer that the scheme to mislead Plaintiff about the travel arrangements occurred in Manhattan.”
“He asked her to sit next to him to go over materials for the presentation, and then he began playing with her hair, kissing her and digitally penetrated her vulva without her consent,” the suit states.
The second alleged assault took place while Dixon and Reid sat inside a car together during the company retreat.
“Shortly into the ride, Mr. Reid again, without Ms. Dixon’s permission or consent, began to grope and kiss Ms. Dixon, who squirmed and pushed him away as Mr. Reid’s driver stared straight ahead. When Mr. Reid complained and became visibly irritated with her lack of compliance, Ms. Dixon froze. Mr. Reid again digitally penetrated Ms. Dixon’s vulva without her consent.”
Source: Black Enterprise
