Croft Refiles Weinstein Dolan Rape Claims In New York

• Kellye Croft refiled sexual assault claims against Harvey Weinstein and James Dolan in New York County Supreme Court on Friday.
• The new lawsuit follows the dismissal of her 2024 federal sex trafficking complaint against the men.
• U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson dismissed the sex trafficking claims with prejudice but permitted refiling of individual assault and battery allegations.
• Croft alleges Dolan sexually assaulted her in Miami and California, then facilitated a 'harrowing assault' by Weinstein in her hotel room in 2014.
• Both Weinstein and Dolan have denied the allegations, with their spokespersons stating the claims lack merit and will be defended against.

The refiling in New York County Supreme Court allows Ms. Croft to pursue individual sexual assault and battery claims after her initial federal sex trafficking allegations were dismissed with prejudice.

A Tennessee woman, Kellye Croft, has refiled sexual assault allegations against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and James Dolan, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment, in New York County Supreme Court. The 30-page complaint, submitted on Friday, details claims of sexual assault occurring over a decade ago, initially against Dolan and subsequently involving Weinstein. Ms. Croft, who was a 27-year-old licensed massage therapist at the time, alleges that Dolan, a billionaire, leveraged his power and financial influence to facilitate his rock band, JD & the Straight Shot, as an opening act for the Eagles in the fall of 2013.

According to the filing, Dolan physically forced himself upon Ms. Croft during a professional massage session in Miami. She further claims that this unwanted sexual contact continued in California during another leg of the tour. Ms. Croft asserts that she was terrified of rejecting Dolan's sexual demands due to his position of power, despite not finding him attractive. The complaint states that Dolan then 'set her up for his good friend Harvey Weinstein’s sexual gratification' in California, leading to a 'harrowing assault' by Weinstein in her hotel room in 2014.

Ms. Croft alleges that Weinstein invited her to his suite under the pretense of discussing job opportunities, mentioning that 'we always need massage therapists on set for actors and actresses.' After Weinstein made sexual advances, she left for her own hotel room, but he reportedly followed her, clad in a loosely tied bathrobe, and assaulted her there. Ms. Croft claims she informed Dolan of the incident several years before widespread allegations against Weinstein became public. She asserts that Dolan responded by saying 'we all know' Weinstein was a 'troubled person' with 'problems,' and that 'his friends' were trying to get him 'help.' This, Ms. Croft argues, contradicts Dolan’s later public statements denying knowledge of Weinstein’s behavior, contending that Dolan not only knew but 'facilitated and enabled' the assault by arranging her meeting with Weinstein.

Ms. Croft is seeking damages, stating that she resorted to drugs and alcohol to cope with the alleged actions of Dolan and Weinstein, requiring extensive rehabilitation for depression and substance abuse.

The current New York County Supreme Court filing represents a strategic refiling of claims that were initially brought in a 2024 federal sex trafficking lawsuit. That earlier complaint, filed in the Central District of California, was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson, a George W. Bush appointee. Judge Anderson determined that Ms. Croft had failed to plausibly demonstrate that she was given anything of value that would constitute a commercial sex act, which is a necessary element for a sex trafficking claim.

Crucially, Judge Anderson dismissed the sex trafficking claims with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled. However, the court explicitly allowed Ms. Croft to refile the individual sexual assault and battery claims against both Dolan and Weinstein. This distinction enabled the present legal action in a new jurisdiction, focusing specifically on the alleged assaults rather than the broader sex trafficking framework.

This legal maneuver highlights the different evidentiary requirements and jurisdictional considerations between federal sex trafficking statutes and state-level sexual assault and battery claims. The dismissal with prejudice for the sex trafficking component underscores the specific legal hurdles in proving commercial sex acts, while the allowance to refile individual claims indicates the court found sufficient grounds for those allegations to proceed in an appropriate forum.

Both Harvey Weinstein and James Dolan have vehemently denied the allegations brought forth by Kellye Croft. A spokesperson for Weinstein, Juda Engelmayer, issued a statement on Friday asserting that these are not new allegations, as Ms. Croft had previously raised them in federal court in California. Engelmayer reiterated that Weinstein unequivocally denied the claims then and continues to do so now, stating, 'Harvey did not sexually assault or attempt to rape Ms. Croft. Refiling the allegations in a different court does not make them true. He will defend himself against these claims through the legal process.'

Similarly, a spokesperson for James Dolan released a statement dismissing the new lawsuit, contending that it 'has no merit — it was dismissed in the other courts and will be dismissed again.' These statements indicate a firm intention from both defendants to contest the allegations through the legal process, maintaining their innocence against the renewed claims in New York.

This case illustrates the strategic refiling of sexual assault claims in a new jurisdiction (New York state court) after a federal sex trafficking claim was dismissed with prejudice. Lawyers should note the distinction between the elements required for sex trafficking versus sexual assault/battery claims and the implications of dismissal with prejudice on future litigation strategies.

Source: Original reporting via Courthouse News