(AllHipHop News) Russell Simmons has failed in his bid to end a lawsuit from a woman alleging he raped her.
The anonymous plaintiff sued the rap producer for $10 million in March 2018, claiming she met him while at a rap concert with her son and that Russell Simmons raped her in his hotel room later that night and also threatened her son.
According to reports, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Marc Gross denied Simmons’ motion for summary judgment, as the email isn’t admissible as evidence because it was sent as part of settlement negotiations.
The hip-hop mogul’s lawyers responded by pointing out that the woman claims the assault happened in a now-closed Clarion Hotel, which could be alternative proof that it was outside the statute of limitations.
However, Gross ruled that news articles supporting this claim were hearsay.
In a sworn declaration filed in May, Simmons denied ever having non-consensual sex. A new statement from his team stated that despite the latest ruling, he would be exonerated.
“The allegation claimed a date of 1988, asking for $10 million,” his representatives said. “After realizing that the extortionate claim would fail because 1988 is outside the statute of limitations, the plaintiff’s lawyer now refuses to provide the date of the alleged incident on a technicality. We fully expect the courts to see through this abuse of the legal system.”