Woman sued by Brett Ratner asks court to dismiss director's lawsuit

LOS ANGELES: One of the Brett Ratner accusers has filed a motion to dismiss the the director's libel suit against her.

The legal team of Melanie Kohler, who had accused Ratner of rape, filed a motion in federal court in Hawaii, seeking a dismissal of Ratner's suit, which he filed in November.

"He has filed this defamation lawsuit with a single purpose: to silence and intimidate Kohler and other women like her from coming forward with stories of grave sexual mistreatment at his hands," stated the document filed in Hawaii, according to Deadline.


Kohler's lawyers argued that Ratner's suit consisted of little more than "threadbare, conclusory allegations", which fail to meet the minimum requirements for a libel complaint.

Ratner in his suit claimed that Kohler defamed him in a Facebook post, in which she accused him of rape, but removed it quickly afterwards.

Kohler's lawyers also contend that the suit should be dismissed under California's anti-SLAPP statute, which limits lawsuits intended to "chill speech".

"Here, Mr Ratner's lawsuit threatens to chill speech that is a part of an important and historic public discussion on sexual assault and rape in Hollywood. As one of the most high profile producers and directors in Hollywood, Mr Ratner's conduct is an important part of that discussion. And Mr Ratner's conduct already is very much a part of that discussion," the lawyers said in the court documents.

They claimed that Ratner has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by more than a dozen actresses and other women in California.

"California thus has a strong interest in ensuring a robust discussion about an issue of such importance to the State and one of its most high-profile residents," they added.