Garth Ancier, the former NBC executive who was accused of sexually abusing Michael Egan when the latter was underage, has now filed a suit against Egan and Egan’s attorneys, Jeffrey Herman and Mark Gallagher.
In the malicious prosecution suit, Ancier claims he was falsely accused of sexual assault.
Also read: Former NBC Executive Garth Ancier Sues Michael Egan Over Sex-Abuse Claims
Egan’s lawsuit, which was filed in April, was dropped earlier this week.
The suit, filed in federal court in Hawaii on Friday, accused Egan, Herman and Gallagher of trying to “smear, harass and severely injure Mr. Ancier as part of an avowed and very public campaign by Mr. Egan’s counsel to troll for new clients who would enable them to shake down other entertainment industry executives with threats of sexual assault charges.”
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Ancier’s complaint, which asserts that Ancier was not in Hawaii when the alleged sexual assaults took place, claims that Egan’s suit was dismissed because Herman faced sanctions based on Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which state that a plaintiff’s attorneys are obligated to conduct a reasonable examination of the facts before filing.
Ancier — whose resume includes stints as chairman of The WB, president of NBC Entertainment and executive vice president, programming at Turner Broadcasting — was one of four show-business luminaries to be sued by Egan for alleged sexual harassment. Egan also sued “X-Men” director Bryan Singer; David Neuman, a former vice president, comedy development at NBC; and Broadway producer Gary Goddard.
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Ancier had earlier condemned Egan’s allegations as a “vile, unwarranted” assault on his reputation.
“I wanted you all to hear from me personally and know that I intend to fight with every resource available this vile, unwarranted assault on my reputation,” Ancier wrote on Facebook and Twitter, calling the lawsuit filed by Egan a “get-rich-quick scheme.”