Attorneys for the unnamed plaintiff who is referred to as 'John Doe No. 117' say in the motion that there is 'no basis to dismiss Plaintiff's claim' and he can't be forced to reveal his identity.
- Jul 23, 2014
AceShowbiz - An unnamed plaintiff who sued stage producer Gary Goddard for sexual abuse has filed a motion opposing his request to dismiss the case. As reported by The Wrap, the plaintiff who is only referred to as John Doe No. 117 filed the motion in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
According to John Doe's attorneys, there is "no basis to dismiss Plaintiff's claim." The British man's legal team also says that he cannot be forced to reveal his identity.
John Doe No. 117 filed a sex abuse lawsuit against Goddard and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" director Bryan Singer in May. According to the suit, the man said that he and Goddard started chatting via social media when he was 14. The relationship allegedly got more intimate. Later in 2006, Goddard and Singer allegedly were "grabbing John Doe in a sexual manner" in an "after" after-party for "Superman" movie in a hotel suite in London.
Goddard denied the accusations and filed a motion to dismiss the suit in June while Singer filed the motion earlier this month. In the motion, Goddard said he did not violate the law. He also said that the British man could not continue with the case anonymously.
"Our Motion to Dismiss is a procedural motion. While, solely for this purpose, the Court is required to assume that the factual allegations in the Complaint and Opposition are true, these inflammatory and provocative allegations have not been made under oath - and are denied. The Plaintiff is hiding behind the litigation privilege to make statements that would otherwise be actionable," an attorney for Goddard, Paul E. Gaspari, said in a statement on Tuesday, July 22.
John Doe, meanwhile, argued that he filed the suit anonymously to "protect me from harassment, injury, ridicule and personal embarrassment, to protect my privacy ... and career as an actor."
