A judge Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by an acting coach against a casting director who the plaintiff alleged posted false allegations that he sexually harassed actresses, damaging his reputation and hurting his business opportunities.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rafael Ongkeko agreed with attorneys for Jennifer Rudolph that the California courts had no personal jurisdiction over her and that therefore plaintiff Robert Margolies’ case could not proceed.
“She is not a resident of California, has no physical presence in California, does not transact business in California and does not possess sufficient minimum contacts with California,” Ongkeko wrote.
The judge’s ruling was “without prejudice,” meaning the suit can be revived with proper legal support.
In a sworn declaration, Rudolph said she and her company, Actors Green Room LLC, have no ties to the Golden State.
“Neither I nor AGR currently own or lease any property in California and have no intention of doing so in the future,” she said.
Attorneys for Margolies argued in their court papers that Rudolph spoke at a seminar in March 2019 in Los Angeles, met with potential clients in California in March 2019, attended a film screening with Margolies in Los Angeles in June 2019 and taught an in-person acting class/workshop in Marina del Rey in November 2019.
But Ongkeko said those examples were not enough.
“The court finds that these four discrete instances in which (Rudolph) was in California is not sufficient to establish substantial, continuous and system contacts” in the state, Ongkeko wrote.
Margolies filed the suit July 2, alleging false light invasion of privacy, intentional and negligent interference with prospective economic relations and intentional interference with contractual relations.
Rudolph created the Actor’s Green Room collective in 2008 to connect actors worldwide with professional in the film industry, the suit states.
Rudolph later established the Green Lounge in 2015, which operates as a Facebook group serving actors, writers, directors and other industry professionals and currently has more than 13,000 members, the suit states.
In January 2018, Margolies joined the Green Lounge Facebook group, where actors worldwide receive education and industry support for all members, according to the suit.
As of last June 2, Margolies had active business deals and had entered into contracts with several members of the Green Lounge group community to provide services to them, their business partners and entities affiliated with them, the suit states.
Margolies received on average 10 clients per month and gained additional business and professional referrals, the suit states.
Rudolph knew that Margolies formed connections and received client referrals via his membership and participation in the Green Lounge group, including actresses Lydia Fiore and Natalie Roy, the suit states.
In early June 2020, at a time when Margolies had a “stellar professional reputation,” Rudolph published a statement on the GL page falsely stating that Margolies was removed from the group because he had violated its rules by engaging in sexual misconduct, the suit states.
Rudolph allegedly stated in one posting, “Over the past week, several women have bravely come forward, putting themselves on the line, to report that members of this community … and Rob Margolies crossed the line and caused them harm. I believe these women. I will always believe women and anyone who speaks up about sexual harassment, assault and other abuses of power,” according to the suit.
The posting further said that Margolies and another man had been “permanently removed from this group and will no longer be permitted to participate in any AGR activities, classes, events or meetups.”
The posting indicated that Margolies was “a perpetrator and/or predator who had engaged in inappropriate, sexual misconduct in the course of professional interactions with actresses,” ostracizing him from his professional contacts and colleagues, the suit states.
Rudolph never reached out to get Margolies’ side of the story, nor did she investigate to determine whether he had actually done anything wrong, according to the suit.