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Sexual assault lawsuit against Kevin Spacey dismissed after accuser's death

By Jonna Lorenz
Actor Kevin Spacey agreed to the dismissal of a sexual harassment lawsuit against him after the accuser died. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI
Actor Kevin Spacey agreed to the dismissal of a sexual harassment lawsuit against him after the accuser died. Photo by Christine Chew/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A lawsuit accusing actor Kevin Spacey of sexual assault was dismissed Monday, months after the anonymous massage therapist who filed it died.

"Contrary to some news reports, Mr. Spacey paid no money to 'settle' the lawsuit," Spacey's attorney Jennifer L. Keller told The Los Angeles Times. "The plaintiff's estate simply decided to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be [refiled] and we agreed to the dismissal."

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Monday's action comes after the the plaintiff's son successfully petitioned a probate court in November to become special administrator, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

The plaintiff, identified in court records as "John Doe," had accused Spacey of forcing him to grab the actor's genitals twice during a massage at a private Malibu residence in 2016. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in 2018 and allowed to continued in May after Spacey objected that the plaintiff's identity was concealed. In September, Spacey's legal team filed a notice of the plaintiff's death.

Court documents filed Monday said attorneys for the special administrator and Spacey "stipulate and agree to the dismissal with prejudice of this action, including all claims stated against all parties, with each party to bear his or its own attorneys' fees and costs."

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In October, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said Spacey wouldn't face criminal charges in the case.

In July, prosecutors in Massachusetts dropped a different case against Spacey in which he was accused of sexually assaulting a teen busboy in a Nantucket bar in 2016.

Monday's news comes days after another accuser, author Ari Behn, the ex-husband of Norway's Princess Martha Louise, died by suicide.

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