Vin Diesel's Lawyer Speaks Out After Latest Ruling in Sexual Battery Case with Ex-Assistant (Exclusive)
In December 2023, Vin Diesel was sued by a former assistant who claimed the actor sexually assaulted her in September 2010, which Diesel denies
The judge in the case dismissed some of the former assistant's claims connected to California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)
Diesel's lawyer Bryan Freedman said they'll next present evidence that the remaining allegations are "fictitious"Vin Diesel scored a legal win in his continued court battle with an ex-assistant who accused him of sexual assault.
Back in December 2023, Asta Jonasson, a former assistant to Diesel, filed a sexual battery lawsuit in Los Angeles against the Fast & Furious actor over an alleged 2010 incident at an Atlanta hotel.
On Tuesday, June 3, Judge Daniel M. Crowley made a tentative ruling in the case, dismissing the first four causes of action that had to do with the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): discrimination in violation of FEHA; hostile work environment in violation of FEHA; retaliation in violation of FEHA; failure to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation in violation of FEHA.
"Plaintiff's FEHA claims are time-barred because she failed to timely exhaust her administrative remedies by filing a CRD complaint within one year of the alleged adverse action, a jurisdictional requirement for a FEHA lawsuit," Judge Crowley wrote in the tentative ruling, viewed by PEOPLE.
Diesel's lawyer Bryan Freedman says in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE on June 3, "It is unfortunate that a person who worked for the company for less than two weeks 15 years ago in another state is allowed to use the California court system to assert such baseless claims."
"The court today granted our client's motion in full dismissing half of this frivolous case," continues Freedman, who separately also represents Justin Baldoni in the ongoing It Ends With Us legal battle with Blake Lively.
"Next, we will present irrefutable evidence that the remaining fictitious allegations alleged herein did not occur and finally end what remains of this maliciously filed lawsuit," claimed Freedman.
Matthew T. Hale, an attorney for Jonasson, says in a statement to PEOPLE, "While we respectfully disagree with the court's decision on this limited legal issue, the court made no factual findings that impact the remaining causes of action in this case."
"We will continue to advocate vigorously on behalf of our client, who remains committed to seeking justice," adds Hale.
Six of Jonasson's causes of action remain: retaliation in violation of Labor Code §1102.5; retaliation in violation of Labor Code §98.6; wrongful termination in violation of public policy; sexual battery; negligent supervision and retention; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In her complaint, Jonasson said she was hired by Diesel's production company One Race Films to assist him on location in Atlanta, where his team was filming 2011's Fast Five. She alleged that Diesel forcibly pulled her onto a bed, groped her breasts and legs and masturbated at a hotel in Atlanta in September 2010, and that she was fired the next day.
After news of the lawsuit in December 2023, Freedman said in a statement, "Let me be very clear: Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety."
He added at the time, "This is the first [Diesel] has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly nine-day employee. There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations."
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