Allowing the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by “Horizon” Stuntwoman’s Kevin Costner to go forward

Today Kevin Costner failed in his bid for the award The second horizon Sexy actress Devin LaBella’s sexual harassment and hostile workplace lawsuit has been overturned. However, while industry expert LaBella dismissed only two of her 10 claims against the Oscar winner, Costner’s lawyers had already promised late Thursday to file a speedy appeal.

After a hearing downtown this morning in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge John R. Takasugi delivered his initial ruling in the case initially filed in May — in other words, it wasn’t quite as bad as… Water world As for Costner, however, he was certainly left mired in the law. “Defendants’ motion to strike is granted with respect to the fourth and seventh causes of action, but is denied with respect to all other causes of action,” he said in a final ruling that strips LaBella’s claim of sexual harassment in violation of the California Civil Code and her interference with the exercise of civil rights in violation of the Bane Act claim from the present lawsuit.

“While Plaintiff’s evidence could show that a reasonable person would have felt harassed, the evidence cannot support the claim that Plaintiff felt she would be subjected to physical violence if she had not participated in the scene,” Judge Takasugi stated of Costner’s heavily financed second unreleased film. Horizon: An American Epic privilege.

Previously, Costner’s team described LaBella’s accusations as “the victim of a violent, unscripted, unscheduled rape scene,” with no SAG-AFTRA-mandated coordinator for “intimate or erotic relationships on the set of May 2, 2023.” The second horizon The absence of an “intimate or erotic coordinator,” was a bold lie. The Yellowstone vet also called the whole procedure an attempt to “damage my reputation.”

At this stage of the case, where we look forward to heading toward trial more than ever, this is not how Judge Takasugi saw things in his final order today

“While Plaintiff alleges a single incident, she has presented evidence that could show that she was subjected to an unplanned rape scene that was conducted without discussion, explanation, choreography session, stunt coordinator presence, or intimate relationship,” the judge wrote in his final order on Marty Singer’s anti-SLAPP motion on Thursday. “At the very least, this evidence would suggest that any reasonable person, in the same situation, taking all the circumstances into account, would find the work environment hostile.”

“As such, the court found that Plaintiff had supported a legally defensible claim by prima facie sufficient evidence showing her claims of discrimination and sexual harassment. Given that finding, Plaintiff had necessarily established a legally defensible claim by reason of failure to prevent.”

In documents filed with LASC last month, LaBella’s lawyers, Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai and Valli Kane & Vagnini, stated: The May 2 shot lacked all contractually required protections for Ms. LaBella. This is the basis of the lawsuit no The content or creative process of filming a sexually violent film.

On Thursday, in what may be the heaviest part of today’s order, Judge Takasugi placed the weight of his interpretation of the law and employment contracts on Labella’s side.

“With respect to the breach of contract cause of action, Plaintiff has presented evidence of a violation of the provisions of the SAG-AFTRA Basic Agreement (the MBA or Basic Agreement),” he wrote of the lack of intimacy or stunt coordination for the rape scene that LaBella was performing in the absence of the lead. The second horizon Actress Ella Hunt. “Plaintiff has presented evidence demonstrating a breach of these provisions in withholding the incident in question, and Plaintiff has thus established a legally defensible claim by prima facie sufficient evidence showing her claim for breach of contract.”

Labella was at the LASC session this morning. Kevin Costner was not.

After the hearing, LaBella’s attorney, James A. Vagnini, to Deadline: “Today, the court sided with Devine and recognized the strong merits of her case, an important step toward uncovering the truth about what happened that day and creating accountability for those who abuse their power. We hope that defendants will not waste any more time on frivolous motions and panicked stalling tactics, and instead allow the discovery phase, when we will hear directly from witnesses in Location photography about the events that occurred. “We look forward to our continued pursuit of justice for Ms. LaBella as she continues to courageously stand firm.”

Fellow attorney Kate MacFarlane added: “The creative process cannot and does not grant men in power complete immunity for mistreating women like Ms. LaBella. We were confident that we would prevail over the defendants in this frivolous motion, and we did. We expect the defendants to continue to use similar tactics in an attempt to prevent their vile conduct from reaching the eyes and ears of the jury. We will not “We retreat.”

On the other hand, never one to back down from fighting for his clients, Singer said, “We were pleased to learn that the court granted our anti-SLAPP motion in part, dismissing two of Plaintiff’s claims — including one of her sexual harassment claims. While we were disappointed with the court’s decision to allow the remaining causes of action to proceed, the evidence is clear that they have no merit.” Legal or factual, we plan to appeal the court’s decision immediately. Despite the plaintiff’s outlandish claims, there was no “simulated rape,” “simulated sex,” or sexual harassment — and no retaliation at all. She even seeks millions of dollars in exchange for agreeing to participate in a rehearsal of an innocuous one-shot, which she even admits was explained to her beforehand. We will continue to fight for the truth and we are very confident of “We will win.”

Maybe, maybe, but what’s certain is that Costner has another kick in the case on the December docket for a late hearing. However, with the disappointing box office of the first Horizon film, the lack of The second horizon On the big screen, the third and fourth installments of Horizon It seems as likely as the return of the Wild West itself, but this issue is over, and Costner may still be successful.