Sex Assault Case Against Tommy Lee Dismissed by Judge Though Jane Doe Can Try Again
A California judge dismissed an ongoing sexual assault case filed against Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee yesterday, but has also given the aggrieved woman 20 days to amend and resubmit her complaint.
According to Rolling Stone, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Holly J. Fujie ruled that the woman identified only as Jane Doe “failed to assert facts” that there was a coverup of the alleged assault. That criteria was required in order for the case to continue under the purview of the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which requires that plaintiffs prove that a “legal entity” worked to hide evidence of an alleged sexual assault.
That decision sided with Lee’s lawyer, who made the assertion that if Lee was well known for that behavior, then “you can’t have a cover-up when the plaintiff alleges that this alleged ‘salacious’ conduct was known to everybody.”
In order for the case to continue, the woman will have to provide additional proof that there was an attempt to conceal what allegedly happened to her.
According to the unnamed woman’s allegations, the incident occurred when she agreed to go on a “sightseeing trip” with pilot David Martz, who she was friend with at the time, back in February 2003. She was then surprised when the pilot also picked up Lee. The complaint claims that both Martz and Lee “consumed several alcoholic beverages, smoked marijuana, and snorted cocaine” before the Mötley Crüe drummer began “forcibly groping, kissing, penetrating her with his fingers, and attempting to force her to perform oral copulation.” Martz, the woman alleges, “merely watched” as the alleged assault took place.
The incident was described in the original lawsuit as follows:
“At one point, Lee penetrated plaintiff with his fingers while fondling her breasts. Lee then pulled down his pants and attempted to force plaintiff’s head toward his genitals. By this point, plaintiff was in tears, but she had nowhere to go—She was trapped with little mobility to leave the cockpit.”
The suit goes on to say that after dropping Lee back off in Van Nuys, Martz then took Doe back to San Diego County without saying anything during the trip. Doe claims that she and Martz spoke briefly in 2009 about the incident.
Though the woman claims she was lured onto the trip “under false pretenses” by both men, the only person who can be held accountable for the alleged incident is Lee, since and Martz died in a plane accident in August 2015.
Rolling Stone claims that Martz had a noted history of flying under the influence and was detained on suspicion of DUI in 2009. He lost his pilot’s license three times throughout his career and was also accused of falsifying his FAA medical certificate in relation to 2013 and 2014 driving convictions.
Doe is suing for sexual assault, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. The lawsuit names Mayhem Touring, Tommy Lee Inc., A Natural High Helicopters, and Social Helicopters as defendants, since Doe’s lawyers believe Lee was on the clock when the incident happened. A Natural High Helicopters was eventually dropped as a defendant by Doe.
So we’ll see what happens next. Doe’s got 20 days to resubmit proof of any sort of coverup. Meanwhile, Lee and his bandmates are out there promoting a new single and hyping up a new album.
