LOS ANGELES — Ruling that a defamation suit against Nikki Benz has the merit to proceed, a Los Angeles judge yesterday denied the adult performer’s SLAPP motion against director Tony T and her motion to strike punitive damages.
In December, Benz claimed she had been sexually assaulted on-set and that the porn director had violated her consent during the filming of a hardcore BDSM scene for adult conglomerate MindGeek, owner of Brazzers and scores of other adult entertainment brands.
Raw footage from the shoot and interviews with a half-dozen others on set refuted her claims, according to Karen Tynan, an industry attorney who represents Tony T.
“We feel incredibly vindicated by this,” Tynan told XBIZ. “Benz went on Twitter to make outrageous claims that were easily refutable, but she did tremendous damage to my client’s reputation and caused him to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts and business opportunities.
“This isn’t about silencing free speech; it’s about the consequences of making criminal allegations with no basis whatsoever. The Tony T suit against Benz will proceed,” Tynan said.
Benz had hoped to derail the defamation suit by filing a SLAPP motion against Tony T. (SLAPP, or strategic lawsuits against public participation, claims are those intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense.)
In the case of Benz, her claim was denied by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Delilah Lyons, who found that Nikki Benz’s statements were a “protected activity” and Tony T met his burden in showing that he had a probability of prevailing in his lawsuit on all causes of action.
Tony T also was found to have properly alleged his right to punitive damages. Therefore, the judge denied the Benz motion to strike the punitives. The judge gave Benz 10 days to file her answer.
At the same hearing, Lyons also heard MindGeek’s SLAPP motion and granted the motion as to MindGeek’s press release regarding Tony T.
The judge found that MindGeek, in issuing the press release firing Tony T, did not adopt Nikki Benz’s defamatory statements.
Lyons, in dismissing the case against MindGeek, also gave the adult company the right to bring a motion for attorneys’ fees and costs against Tony T.
Lisa Maki, Benz’s attorney, told XBIZ today that Benz will be filing an appeal over Lyons’ ruling.
Pictured: Nikki Benz, left, and Tony T
