According to CBS news, the case against Marilyn Manson by his former assistant, Ashley Walters, for “sexual assault, battery, and harassment” has been dismissed by a Superior court judge.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern dismissed the case on the grounds of Walters waiting too long to file the lawsuit and failing to prove why the statute of limitations should be overlooked.
The Superior Court Judge oversaw Walters’ case back in February and dismissed at that time after determining that Walters had not presented enough evidence to overcome the statute of limitations. Stern then allowed Walters to file an amended complaint to be heard again, which has now also been dismissed. “The plaintiff has pleaded too few facts and too late to keep this case in court,” Stern said in his ruling.
The lawsuit read: “Defendants should not benefit from [Manson’s] physically, emotionally and psychologically debilitating and threatening behavior by being permitted to use the statute of limitations as a shield.
“While [Walters] could not recall many of the specific acts of intimidation, threats and coercion until Fall of 2020 or later, the compilation of numerous threatening and violent events instilled a constant state of fear of retribution and retaliation.”
Walters’ representatives at the law firms of Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP and Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP offered the following comment to CBS News.
“We are deeply disappointed in the court’s decision today. If allowed to stand, this decision would drastically limit the ability of victims of abuse to obtain justice through the legal system. We clearly pleaded the facts of this case in the complaint detailing the trauma and abuse Ashley endured, which prevented her from coming forward sooner.
“While the court based its decision on the timeliness of Ashley’s claims and not the merits, we disagree with the court’s interpretation of the law as it applies to equitable estoppel and the delayed filing of abuse claims. We remain confident that a full review of the facts in this case will result in a successful appeal, which we plan on filing.”
Walters also released her own statement, which reads: “Nobody gets to choose exactly how they process abuse or threats. I am disheartened in the court’s decision today not just for my case, but for the message it sends to other survivors out there trying to balance how they process abuse with arbitrary court deadlines. We will not let this hurdle stop us from shining a light on what happened to me and others.”