Smokey Robinson, the 85-year-old Motown singer, has filed a $500 million cross-complaint for defamation and elder abuse in opposition to 4 former housekeepers, who accused him of sexual harassment and rape in a $50 million lawsuit earlier this month.
Robinson’s countersuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket, alleges the ladies and their legal professional, John W. Harris, conspired to make “slanderous statements” about him and his spouse, Frances Robinson, at a press convention on Might 6, with the intention of extorting cash from the couple.
Robinson claims the 4 ladies and Harris fabricated the sexual assault allegations and used a press convention to make defamatory statements outdoors the safety of litigation privilege. The countersuit particularly references Harris calling Robinson a “serial and sick rapist” on the press occasion, arguing that whereas authorized privilege could shield statements made in courtroom filings, it doesn’t lengthen to statements made to the media.
The grievance accuses the ladies of deleting textual content exchanges and pictures from Frances Robinson’s telephone, however contains purported texts displaying pleasant communications, akin to birthday needs and invites to household occasions.
The Robinsons describe their therapy of the housekeepers as exceptionally beneficiant, offering presents together with cash for dental work, holidays, live performance tickets, and even a automotive. The countersuit asserts that whereas the Robinsons had been beneficiant, the plaintiffs had been allegedly plotting an “extortionate plan” to acquire more cash and destroy their reputations.
Robinson’s workforce has moved to dismiss the ladies’s lawsuit and requested that the plaintiffs refile utilizing their actual names slightly than pseudonyms, arguing the allegations are so indifferent from actuality that they can not establish who’s being accused of what.
The countersuit additionally contains claims of emotional misery and monetary elder abuse, and alleges theft of a protected and financial institution information from the Robinson family, suggesting potential involvement by a number of plaintiffs.
The 4 ladies, recognized as Jane Does, allege Robinson remoted them at his properties in California and Las Vegas, repeatedly forcing them into non-consensual sexual acts over a few years, with the earliest alleged incident occurring in 2007.
Every lady claims to have been raped, and their lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages for sexual assault, sexual battery, false imprisonment and gender violence. The ladies say they had been reluctant to report the alleged abuse because of concern of job loss, immigration penalties and intimidation by Robinson’s superstar standing.
California legislation permits plaintiffs in civil instances, particularly these involving sexual assault, to proceed beneath pseudonyms (akin to Jane Doe) if revealing their identities may lead to particular hurt, akin to retaliation or additional stigmatization. The courtroom should stability the plaintiffs’ privateness pursuits in opposition to the defendant’s and the general public’s proper to know the events’ identities.Smokey Robinson is in search of $500 million in damages for defamation and elder abuse, naming each the 4 ladies and their legal professional as defendants.
The unique sexual assault lawsuit in opposition to Robinson stays pending, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division has initiated a prison investigation into the allegations. Attorneys for the ladies haven’t commented publicly on the countersuit as of the newest filings.
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