A Los Angeles judge has cleared the remaining claims in a sexual battery and retaliation lawsuit filed against Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel, shutting down the case at the trial-court level but leaving the door open for further litigation.
The suit, brought by former assistant Asta Jonasson, stemmed from allegations tied to the 2010 production of Fast Five, part of Universal’s long-running Fast & Furious franchise. Jonasson’s attorney, Matthew Hale, said his client intends to appeal. “The Court did not decide anything about the truth of Ms. Asta Jonasson’s allegations,” Hale told Deadline, arguing the dismissal “was based on a legal technicality.”
Judge Daniel M. Crowley’s ruling focused on jurisdiction rather than the underlying claims. “It is undisputed that the alleged sexual assault took place in Atlanta, Georgia,” he wrote.
Jonasson filed her lawsuit under a California statute, the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which lifts certain statute-of-limitations barriers. Crowley found that the law does not extend beyond California’s borders and cannot govern alleged conduct in another state. He noted that California statutes carry no extraterritorial effect unless expressly stated by the Legislature, which he said was not the case here.
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The judge reached a similar conclusion earlier this year. He dismissed four other claims brought under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. Wednesday’s ruling disposed of the remaining causes of action and emphasized again that “California law cannot be applied to any of plaintiff’s claims.”
Jonasson alleges Diesel assaulted her in an Atlanta hotel suite in 2010 during the filming of Fast Five. She claims she resisted and that Diesel, her employer at the time, used his authority to overpower her. She further alleges she was fired hours later by Diesel’s sister and producing partner, Samantha Vincent.
Diesel has denied the accusations since the filing of the suit. His attorney, Bryan Freedman, called the allegations false and said their age underscored their lack of credibility.
Source: ameyawdebrah.com/
