A judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a woman who alleged an actor subjected her to physical and emotional abuse during their longtime live-in relationship.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Marc Gross issued his decision after plaintiff Kate Buckwald and actor Grant Bowling failed to show up for a scheduled hearing Monday and no attorneys appeared on their behalf. Gross’ decision was “without prejudice,” meaning Buckwald is not barred from bringing her allegations again in the future.
In her lawsuit filed in December 2016, Buckwald said she met Bowler in October 2010 and quit her fulltime job as a case manager for the severely disabled so she could be his personal assistant.
Starting in 2010 and continuing through the end of their relationship in 2016, Bowler inflicted physical and emotional trauma upon Buckwald by, among other things, choking her, by criticizing her with the intent of destroying her self-worth and by embarrassing her in public, the suit alleged.
The suite stated that domestic violence occurred in front of other people and while the two were alone.
Buckwald first witnessed Bowler’s alleged violent behavior in May 2010, when he began screaming and punching at the door frames and walls of their home, the suit stated. Bowler said he was going to kill himself, then locked Buckwald out of the house, according to the complaint.
That same year, Buckwald visited Bowler in Toronto during filming of the Syfy television show “Defiance,” in which he played the character of Joshua Nolan. One evening in Toronto, he screamed at Buckwald for about an hour, the suit stated. She packed her bags and tried to leave, but he grabbed her by the arms and threw her onto a bed, according to the suit.
Bowler took Buckler’s bag of toiletries and hit her in the head with it, the suit states.
During an argument at a Montreal hotel in July 2015, Bowler put his hands around Buckwald’s neck and choked her, leaving her gasping for air, the suit states. After flying home, Buckwald was treated for tissue damage around her trachea at UCLA Medical Center, the suit states. She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the suit states.
Bowler, now 49, was born in New Zealand. He has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian film, television and theatre. He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne Patterson in the Australian police drama series “Blue Heelers” and Wolfgang West in the New Zealand television series “Outrageous Fortune.”