Country singer’s lawyers seek to move venue as Jane Roe plaintiff’s damages exceed regulations for federal court
Lawyers for Garth Brooks have filed a motion to move the sexual assault lawsuit against the country star from state to federal court.
The lawsuit was initially filed at a California superior court in October, but because the Jane Roe plaintiff is seeking more than $75,000 in damages, that falls within federal court regulations.
Entertainment Tonight reports that the shift to a federal court could be advantageous to Brooks, as those courts usually schedule quicker trial dates, a more blue-collar jury pool, and the judges are more “amenable to dismissing a case,” legal expert Tre Lovell told ET.
In the graphic lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court and obtained by Rolling Stone, the woman — a hair and makeup artist who worked with the singer — said the first alleged battery took place while she was at Brooks’ home on a styling appointment. She claimed Brooks stepped out of a shower naked, “grabbed her hands and forced them onto his erect penis” while stating that he “had fantasized about this moment and wanted her to perform oral sex on him.”
The woman said a second incident happened when she agreed to travel with Brooks to Los Angeles for a Grammy tribute to Sam Moore. She claimed Brooks “trapped” her in a hotel room, “grabbed her hands and pulled her” onto a bed where she alleged he raped her.
Responding to the lawsuit in October, Brooks claimed he was the victim of extortion and defamation. “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars,” the country singer said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”
Brooks later added in a Facebook Live Q&A, “This thing is on; it’s gonna happen. People are telling me it could be up to two years. So my suggestion is, we all take a deep breath, just kinda settle in and let’s hold hands and take a trip together. Because it is something that we cannot talk about. That’s all we can say about it.”