Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee Wins Initial Sexual Assault Case Ruling

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee had a ruling go his way on Monday in a sexual assault suit brought by an accuser last December, but the case may not be over yet. A California judge dismissed the suit against Lee over an alleged 2003 assault against the plaintiff in a helicopter, but has allowed the plaintiff time to amend the complaint after it was determined the originally filed suit did not meet the legal act under which it was filed.

The initial complaint was filed under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, but filings under the act must show that some type of “legal entity” was engaged in a cooperative effort to hide evidence of the sexual assault.

Per Rolling Stone, Lee’s attorneys argued that the plaintiff, going under the pseudonym Jane Doe, had written in her complaint that the Motley Crue drummer was already famous for his “salacious and hedonistic conduct” at the time of the alleged assault.

“That would obviate any ability for a coverup. You can’t have a coverup when the plaintiff alleges that this alleged ‘salacious’ conduct was known to everybody,” Lee’s lawyer A. Sasha Frid said.

“The court had its own questions about that,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Holly J. Fujie said in response. “However, this is officially our first look at the pleading, and we will almost always grant one opportunity to amend.”

What Is the Accusation Against Tommy Lee?

The plaintiff alleged in her initial lawsuit that she had been lured by pilot David Martz to take a helicopter “sightseeing tour” in 2003. She claims that it was a surprise that Martz picked up another guest that turned out to be Tommy Lee.

[Warning: Sexual Content Ahead] According to the Jane Doe plaintiff, she was then forcibly kissed and groped by the musician during a 40-minute helicopter ride from San Diego County to Van Nuys, Calif.

She alleges that the musician penetrated her with his fingers and pulled down his pants exposing 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 plaintiff added in her lawsuit, according to Rolling Stone.

Meanwhile, she alleged in her filing that Martz, the pilot, “merely watched” the assault take place, but said nothing to her on the return trip to San Diego County after they dropped Lee off in Van Nuys.

The Case Continues?

With the dismissal, the court has allowed the plaintiff the opportunity to amend her complaint. But the case will only continue under the Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act if there are new alleged facts that show that a “concerted effort” was made to conceal Lee’s alleged assault. The plaintiff has 20 days to file the amended complaint.

According to Rolling Stone, the judge stated in her written ruling that the plaintiff had “failed to assert facts to support the ‘coverup’ requirement.” The judge also questioned whether the plaintiff would be able to show that a legal entity had participated in a cover-up, as the two sides argued whether Lee’s Mayhem Touring Inc. was suspended or still operational at the time of the alleged assault.

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“We applaud the court’s decision. The court got it right in finding that the plaintiff cannot assert a claim against Tommy Lee. From the outset, Mr. Lee has vehemently denied these false and bogus accusations,” Frid said in a statement to Rolling Stone on Monday.