Vin Diesel has been cleared of sexual battery allegations made by a former assistant related to the filming of Fast 5.
On Wednesday, the Fast and the Furious star breath a sigh of relief as he was cleared of legal claims made by a former assistant claiming sexual battery in a Los Angeles Court.
Diesel has spent the last two years rejecting ex-assistant Asta Jonasson’s claim that he assaulted her at the St. Regis hotel in Atlanta while Fast 5 was filming in 2010.
As per Deadline, Matthew Hale, an attorney for Jonasson, told that :the court did not decide anything about the truth of Ms. Asta Jonasson's allegations,” against the California-born film star
Hale added, “The ruling was based on a legal technicality, with which we respectfully disagree. Ms. Jonasson intends to appeal.”
In his 13-page summary judgment, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel M. Crowley emphasized location over allegation, noting it was undisputed that the alleged incident occurred in Atlanta, Georgia.
The judge claimed that the case “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.”
The ruling followed arguments heard earlier in November.
Jonasson’s attorney argued the case belonged in California since filming in Georgia was temporary, both Jonasson and Diesel lived in California, and she was hired by a California company.
Diesel's attorney Freedman said after the verdict, “We are grateful that the court put an end to this meritless lawsuit. We are pleased that this matter has been resolved entirely.”
Freedman said Diesel had never heard of the “13-year-old claim” from someone who worked only nine days and argued there was “clear evidence” disproving her allegations.
