Judge on motions after Garth Brooks accuser files motion to seal MS case

Lawyers for Garth Brooks and his alleged rape victim appeared before a Mississippi judge Friday to argue their positions on two legal motions, with both sides sometimes seen as an attack on their clients.

Brooks and his accuser, whom the Clarion Ledger identifies only as Jane Roe, are involved in two lawsuits, including one in U.S. District Court in Mississippi.

Last month, the country music artist filed a lawsuit in Mississippi federal court under pseudonyms to stop Roe from going public with allegations that he raped and sexually assaulted her in 2019 while Roe worked for him as a hairdresser.

Roe filed a complaint on October 3 in a California state court, describing his accusations of sexual assault against Brooks, and five days later, Brooks filed an amended complaint revealing the name of his accuser. Although the woman’s name is listed in public records, the Clarion Ledger does not release the names of people alleging rape or sexual assault.

Garth Brook names his accuser

A day after Brooks released his accuser’s name in court records, Roe’s lawyers filed an emergency motion on Oct. 9 to seal or redact documents showing Roe’s true identity. Roe’s lawyers also filed a motion seeking sanctions against the singer for “illegal and intentional disclosure of the identity of a rape victim without her consent.”

Brooks and his lawyers continued to deny any wrongdoing and called the charges extortion.

Neither Roe nor Brooks were present at Friday morning’s hearing at the Thad Cochran U.S. Courthouse.

U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate heard arguments from both sides but did not rule on the issue. Wingate said he decided not to issue a ruling Friday because an affidavit expected to be filed by Roe’s attorneys on Monday, Oct. 21, “could impact” his final decision.

The country singer speaks out in a legal filing: Garth Brooks names his rape accuser in Mississippi trial. He calls himself a “victim of a shakedown”

What did Brooks and Roe’s lawyers argue?

On September 13, Brooks filed a lawsuit seeking relief for Roe’s alleged attempt to extort, defame, and inflict emotional distress through “scandalous conduct” and “false allegations of sexual misconduct” ruled damaging to Brooks’ reputation and family. In that complaint, Brooks said Roe sent him two demand letters in which she threatened to make the allegations public and sue him unless he paid her millions of dollars. Brooks asked the court to preserve the anonymity of the parties by allowing them to use pseudonyms to protect them from harm and distress.

David Kaufman, one of Brooks’ attorneys, said that before the Mississippi court could rule on Brooks’ complaint, Roe filed a lawsuit in a California court in which she did not indicated his name but had identified Brooks. Kaufman said this was Roe’s latest attempt to “smear” his client’s reputation.

Kaufman said that on July 17, an attorney acting under Roe sent Brooks a cease-and-desist letter alleging a litany of sexual misconduct by Brooks, ranging from allegations of sexual solicitation to sexual touching unwanted messages, none of which were based on fact, according to Kaufman. Roe reportedly threatened to publicly file a civil complaint containing the allegations.

Kaufman said in an Aug. 23 follow-up letter that Roe offered to refrain from publicly filing his “false and defamatory lawsuit” in exchange for a multimillion-dollar payment. Kaufman said Brooks “was the victim of an attempted shakedown.”

Kaufman said the demand letters led Brooks to file his complaint on September 13, and that Roe identifying Brooks in his California lawsuit led Brooks to identify Roe in his October 18 court filing.

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Kaufman said there were plans to move the court to Mississippi because Roe lives in Madison County.

“They wanted a public fight, and they got it,” Kaufman said in court.

In response, Roe’s attorney, Jeanne Christensen, said Brooks “intentionally” and “presumptively” filed his complaint in the Mississippi court to conflict with the California lawsuit.

Christensen said Brooks was trying to circumvent the Anti-Public Participation Provision, also known as Anti-SLAPP, designed to protect people from baseless lawsuits aimed at intimidating someone from participating. exercise your First Amendment rights.

Christensen said Brooks filed his Sept. 13 complaint against Roe based on a letter that was not in public records, calling Brooks an “inappropriate plaintiff” in the Mississippi case.

Christensen also mentioned that Brooks’ lawyers received two months’ notice of Roe’s intention to file suit by October 4. Christensen said that in the meantime, Brooks failed to extend his client the same courtesy before filing his amended complaint.

According to Christensen, Roe never took the necessary steps to publicly reveal his full name and Brooks revealing Roe’s identity was “purely out of spite.” Christensen asked the court to seal all legal documents identifying Roe by his real name.

“To say they had his best interests in mind is very hard to believe,” Christensen said.

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Christensen also clarified to the court that California’s Roe filing in October was not intended to overturn Mississippi’s judicial authority. Roe’s attorneys are expected to file an affidavit containing a timeline of events regarding this case before filing a motion to dismiss the case.

Wingate said Roe’s attorneys must file the affidavit by Monday, Oct. 21, and Brooks’ attorneys will have the opportunity to respond, if necessary, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, via Zoom conference.

Wingate also said Roe’s attorney’s motion to dismiss the case will be due Friday, Oct. 25.

Garth Brook names his accuser

What did Brooks and Roe’s lawyers argue?

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