Contending it has no liability, Lionsgate Films Inc. is seeking removal as a co-defendant in an actor’s sexual assault/battery lawsuit that also names Tyler Perry as a co-defendant.
Mario Rodriguez’s Los Angeles Superior Court suit was recently returned to state court after a brief time in federal court. On April 8, attorneys for Perry and Lionsgate filed court papers with Judge Brock Hammond in advance of a May 7 hearing in which the studio is asking for dismissal of Rodriguez’s one claim against Lionsgate for negligent retention.
“It is all too obvious what is happening here: Rodriguez, a California citizen, is suing Mr. Perry, a Georgia citizen, and wants to avoid federal court … so he has asserted a half-baked and legally deficient claim against Lionsgate to rope it into this case to defeat diversity,” the Perry/Lionsgate attorneys state in their court papers.
Diversity jurisdiction in federal court allows civil cases between citizens of different states to be heard in federal court rather than state court, provided the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.
According to the Lionsgate motion, Rodriguez has not provided enough facts to show that Lionsgate knew or should have known — or even could have known — of Perry’s alleged behavior.
Because Rodriguez has allegedly not stated a claim for negligent retention against Lionsgate as a matter of law and cannot fix the problems with an amended complaint, the cause of action should be tossed out, according to the Perry/Lionsgate attorneys’ pleadings.
Rodriguez concedes that during his short time on set, there was no misconduct, the defense lawyers’ further state in their court papers while adding that the plaintiff alleges the 56-year-old Perry abused him at the filmmaker’s residence.
“He suffered no injury, he was not assaulted or battered and he never even interacted with anyone from Lionsgate,” the defense attorneys state.
“Lionsgate can only be held liable for what it knew or should have known at the time, which was nothing,” the defense motion states.
Rodriguez appeared in “Boo! A Madea Halloween” and accuses the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances. The suit was filed Dec. 26.