A California judge presiding over a sex trafficking case brought against the CEO/executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) James Dolanthe companies Azoff and Harvey Weinstein in January is considering several motions to dismiss the lawsuit, with a decision expected to be announced early next week.
Lawyer Douglas WindorA high-profile judge who represented Casandra Ventura (aka singer Cassie) in her sex-trafficking lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs filed an explosive lawsuit in January on behalf of Tennessee massage therapist Kellye Croft, who alleged that Dolan and an Azoff Music Management employee conspired to fly her to California to have sex with Dolan — who in turn allegedly trafficked her to Weinstein.
Azoff Companies representation is a powerful New York judge Daniel Petrocellipartner at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, who has represented Donald Trump and Travis Scott. Dolan is represented by Dania Perryformer assistant US attorney and former head of litigation at MacAndrews & Forbes.
Petrocelli and Perry have filed separate motions to dismiss the case, which is being handled by the judge Percy Andersonwhile Perry has issued a blanket denial of Croft's claims against Dolan.
Croft claims she was recruited to work with the late Glenn Frey in October 2013 while the Eagles singer and frontman was touring with the band and the opening of JD and the Straight Shot, which Dolan fronts. Croft claims that Dolan befriended her during the tour, gained her trust and then sexually assaulted her before forcing her to have sex while on the road.
Two months after returning to Nashville in the wake of the tour, Croft claims she was contacted by an Azoff Music Management executive and hired to work as Frey's masseuse for the Eagles' six nights of concerts at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. When Croft arrived in Los Angeles, she learned that he was staying at a different hotel than the band – leading her to suspect that he had actually been hired by Azoff Management as a favor to Dolan.
“Ms. Croft did not give a single massage to any member of the Eagles while working at The Forum,” Wingdor writes, claiming that “in fact, Ms. Croft was flown to Los Angeles with the intention of engaging in unwanted sexual acts with Dolan .”
Croft also claims that Dolan set her up, allegedly with the help of two Azoff employees, for a meeting with Weinstein, the disgraced film producer and convicted rapist, during her stay at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. Croft says she was confronted by Weinstein in an elevator and allegedly offered a job on the set of an upcoming movie — only to later be sexually propositioned by the film producer, who then followed her to her room and sexually assaulted her. according to the complaint. .
Dolan's relationship with Weinstein dates back to 2003, when Dolan and Weinstein were part of an investment team — which also included a stockbroker and a convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein — who hoped to buy New York magazine. Dolan also briefly served on the board of The Weinstein Company beginning in 2016.
Croft reportedly decided to file the lawsuit after Dolan sent her the lyrics to “I Should've Known,” a song she wrote lamenting his failure to stop Weinstein from victimizing women.
In April, Perry filed a motion to dismiss Croft's lawsuit, arguing that even if the woman's allegations were true, she cannot sue Dolan under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act because “the bill targets and criminalizes the sex trafficking, not sexual relations (which is all (Croft's complaint) alleges),'' according to the motion, Wigdor responded in a separate filing that Perry's reading of the law was “erroneous.”
As for the Weinstein allegation, Perry maintains that Dolan and other former Weinstein Company board members were already cleared of any claims “of alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein” during the 2018 bankruptcy proceedings. Wigdor responded that Croft “did not agree to waive her claims” and was unaware of the bankruptcy.
Petrocelli's motion to dismiss argues that Croft's complaint “contains no evidence to suggest that the Azoff entities participated in, benefited from, or even knew about any sex-trafficking scheme” when they hired her. Petrocelli also wants Croft and her attorney to be sanctioned for filing the lawsuit, and is asking Croft to be ordered to pay Azoff's legal costs.
The motions were taken on the advice of the judge, who late last week canceled a Monday (June 3) hearing for oral arguments on the motions, noting that “the Court finds this matter appropriate for a decision without oral argument.” . His decision is expected to make any decision. day.
