Ratner accuser asks court to drop libel suit
Los Angeles, Jan 4 (IANS) Melanie Kohler, a Hawaiian woman who accused Hollywood producer Brett Ratner of raping her last year, has filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the libel suit.
Kohler’s lawyers contend that Ratner’s suit consisted of little more than “threadbare, conclusory allegations” which fail to meet the minimum requirements for a libel complaint, variety.com reports.
They also argued that Ratner’s suit was intended to intimidate other women from coming forward with allegations.
In October, Kohler wrote a Facebook post alleging that Ratner raped her in 2004 or 2005. She took the post down within two hours, after receiving a call from Ratner’s attorney.
“Stripped of its conclusory allegations, the complaint is essentially a blank piece of paper. It lacks any factual allegation from which this court can infer that Kohler’s FB post was false or was published with actual malice,” Kohler’s attorneys wrote.
Kohler’s attorneys also argued the suit should be dismissed under California’s anti-SLAPP statute which limits lawsuits intended to chill public speech.
In a filing last week, Ratner’s attorneys said they would seek to limit Kohler’s ability to use the discovery process to explore other sexual misconduct allegations against him.