Russell Simmons, despite the fact he lives in a foreign country, will face a lawsuit accusing him of rape, a judge has ruled.
According to Billboard, Judge Adam Silvera of New York state court rejected attempts from Simmons and his legal team to dismiss a civil lawsuit alleging he raped a Def Jam executive while she worked at the company in the ‘90s, which was originally filed in 2024 in federal court.
Last year, a federal judge said the lawsuit couldn’t proceed because it was outside of the court’s jurisdiction, because Simmons has lived in Indonesia since 2018.
Following the ruling from a federal judge, the anonymous executive re-filed the lawsuit in state court, which Silvera said can proceed.
"The complaint alleges the defendant committed the tort of rape in New York state," Silvera wrote in the filing. "[In New York], a court may exercise personal jurisdiction over any non-domiciliary who commits a tortious act within the state, except as to a cause of action for defamation. Therefore, the complaint survives the motion to dismiss stage."
Simmons moved to Indonesia in 2018, shortly after a wave of people accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. Among the individuals who have since accused Simmons of assault before and following the move abroad include model Keri Claussen Khalighi, writer Jenny Lumet, filmmaker Jennifer Jarosik, plus a number of other anonymous women.
Simmons' lawyers have continually argued that the lawsuit should not proceed because he doesn’t live in the United States anymore. They also argued that it should be dismissed because she signed a severance agreement in 1997, although the accuser's attorneys claim the alleged agreement was a "sham" with forged signatures.
The lawsuit is set to proceed to the discovery stage, wherein both parties' respective legal teams will exchange evidence and speak to witnesses.
