A Los Angeles judge ruled in favor of Russell Simmons in his rape lawsuit because the alleged claims fell outside of the statute of limitations.
The anonymous accuser, identified as Jane Doe, filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Def Jam co-founder in March 2018. The woman accused Simmons of sexual battery and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Simmons responded by calling the claims a "vile" extortion attempt.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark H. Epstein handed down a summary judgment in favor of Simmons after denying his previous motion during settlement negotiations. Simmons' motioned was renewed after his lawyers obtained admissible evidence.
"Defendant contends that plaintiff's claims are time-barred because plaintiff admitted the alleged incident occurred in 1988 but filed her action in 2018," Epstein wrote. "This is true. As previously stated, the Court granted defendant’s motion to deem the request for admission asking plaintiff to admit that the alleged sexual battery occurred in 1988."
Epstein entered his judgment after giving Jane Doe two weeks to respond to Simmons' motion. The accuser's attorney Douglas Mastroianni was disbarred in September after unrelated disciplinary charges.
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