Vin Diesel lawsuit dismissed after judge rules lack of jurisdiction

A Los Angeles court has ruled that Vin Diesel's former employee could not sue in California because the sexual assault allegedly took place in Atlanta. Photo / Getty Images

Sexual battery allegations against actor Vin Diesel have been dismissed in a Los Angeles court.

The case was brought by a former assistant on the film Fast 5 but dismissed in California because the alleged assault took place in another state.

The Fast and Furious actor has rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/vin-diesel-accused-of-sexual-battery-in-los-angeles-lawsuit-by-former-assistant/IYHSUI2J3ZGANMNVEQFUSLU2PI/">always denied the claims made against him by ex-assistant Asta Jonasson, who alleged two years ago that the star “forced himself on her” at a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, during production on the fifth film in the franchise in 2010.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel M Crowley had previously dismissed four of Jonasson’s 10 claims due to the statute of limitations, and he dismissed the remaining six this week due to lack of jurisdiction.

Following the ruling, her attorney Matthew Hale said: “The court did not decide anything about the truth of Ms Asta Jonasson’s allegations.

“The ruling was based on a legal technicality, with which we respectfully disagree. Ms Jonasson intends to appeal.”

In his 13-page ruling, the judge said: “It is undisputed that the alleged sexual assault took place in Atlanta, Georgia.”

He noted that as Jonasson’s claims are “based on an alleged violation of a California statute, it fails as a matter of law because California statutes are presumed not to have extraterritorial effect unless the legislature expressly states otherwise in adopting the statute”.

Although the entire lawsuit would have been beyond the statute of limitations, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act in 2022, which revived some sexual assault cases as far back as 2009.

However, the judge has ruled that the law doesn’t apply outside the state of California.

Vin Diesel’s lawyer Bryan Freedman denied the allegations in 2023, saying there was “clear evidence” to refute them.

Following this week’s ruling, he said: “We are grateful that the court put an end to this meritless lawsuit.

“We are pleased that this matter has been resolved entirely.”

In her original lawsuit filed in December, the former assistant claimed the Pacifier actor invited her to his suite after coming back from a club with hostesses, and then when the rest of the group left, allegedly grabbed her wrists and pulled her onto the bed, groping her chest and kissing her, “despite her pleas” for him to stop.

The lawsuit added: “Ms Jonasson was afraid to more forcibly refuse her supervisor, knowing that getting him out of that room was both crucial to her personal safety and job security.

“But this hope died when Vin Diesel dropped to his knees, pushed Ms Jonasson’s dress up toward her waist, and molested her body, running his hands over Ms Jonasson’s upper legs, including her inner thighs.”

Jonasson claimed that at that point she ran away from the actor and headed toward the bathroom, but he allegedly pinned her against a wall and placed her hand on his “erect” member as he touched himself.

In response, the Riddick star “categorically denied” the allegations.

His lawyer Freedman told Variety in a statement: “Let me be very clear Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety. This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly nine-day employee.

“There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations.”