Thursday, May 17, 2012

Lawyer: John Travolta 'vindicated' in sex suit







Two of three plaintiffs have dropped out of a lawsuit against John Travolta.

Two of three plaintiffs have dropped out of a lawsuit against John Travolta.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS



  • John Doe #1 withdraws from the suit; he misstated the date of the alleged incident

  • "My client will similarly be vindicated with respect to Doe #2," Travolta's lawyer says

  • Remaining plaintiff claims Travolta groped him during a massage at an Atlanta hotel

  • The plaintiff's lawyer vows to "mop up" in court with witnesses and documents





Los Angeles (CNN) -- The withdrawal of one of two massage therapists from a sex battery lawsuit against John Travolta "completely vindicated" the actor, Travolta's lawyer said Tuesday.

The lawyer representing the therapists filed papers Tuesday dropping the client identified as John Doe #1 because he had misstated the date of the alleged incident at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

"We fully expect that my client will similarly be vindicated with respect to Doe #2, as well as with respect to any other person who makes meritless claims against John Travolta," attorney Martin Singer said.

The remaining plaintiff claims Travolta groped him during a massage at an Atlanta hotel last January.

"I can guarantee that John Doe #2 has a truckload of witnesses to back up what he's saying," plaintiff's attorney Okorie Okarocha told CNN Tuesday.

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His case is also bolstered by a series of e-mails in which the Atlanta plaintiff complains to his supervisor about Travolta's advances, Okarocha said.

Singer attacked one e-mail published in some online reports that purportedly supports the Doe #2 claims.

"Various media outlets are reporting on an e-mail that Doe #2 allegedly sent to his bosses, which significantly does not refer to my client at all, nor does it make any mention whatsoever of any of the things outrageously alleged in Doe #2's lawsuit," Singer said. "Instead, Doe #2 voiced complaints about his co-workers gossiping and being insubordinate."

The e-mail's lack of Travolta's name "says it all," Singer said. "Nothing that is alleged in Doe #2's lawsuit was mentioned in the e-mail he sent to his bosses, making his claims even more unbelievable."

"The allegations in 'Doe #2's' lawsuit are unraveling, just like 'Doe #1's' ridiculous allegations, which were proven false and impossible," he said.

Two men accuse Travolta of sexual battery in lawsuit

Okarocha, however, vowed that he would "mop up" in the courtroom with the witnesses and documents against Travolta.

"I think I can show a custom, habit and practice," Okarocha said, referring to his allegation that the actor has sexually assaulted dozens of other massage therapists over the years.

"If I bring in 100 people that don't have an ax to grind, don't want any money, they're in 50 different states, they don't know each other, they're all massage therapists, they all have dates, they're at different spa resorts and they say this exact same thing happened, it's pretty hard to refute," Okarocha said.

His client "ain't going nowhere," and is looking forward to a trial, he said.

"He means business and he is absolutely determined and he's as solid as they come as when it comes to character, history, reputation," Okarocha said. "He's everything you would want in a client."

Okarocha apologized last Friday for putting the wrong date of the John Doe #1 incident in the lawsuit, saying his first client initially told him it was January 16, 2012. Singer produced a restaurant receipt and a time-stamped photograph that showed the actor was in New York, not Los Angeles, on that date.

Plaintiff's attorney apologizes about error in sex lawsuit

Instead of just changing the date on the filing to January 15 -- the day John Doe #1 later decided was when it happened -- Okarocha decided to withdraw the allegation from the lawsuit. Otherwise, it would have hampered the chances of John Doe #2's case, he said.

Okarocha also said he had "personality conflicts" with John Doe #1 that contributed to his decision.

The second plaintiff was a staff massage therapist at the Atlanta hotel where he claims he was assaulted by Travolta on January 25, the amended lawsuit said.

Travolta, 58, has been married to actress Kelly Preston for 20 years. The oldest of their three children, Jett, was 16 when he died of a seizure while the family was vacationing in the Bahamas in January 2009.


Source & Image : CNN Entertainment

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