UPDATE: U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway on Thursday set a July 7 hearing to consider Singer’s motion to dismiss.
PREVIOUS: “X-Men: Days of Future Past” director Bryan Singer has filed a motion to dismiss the case brought by Michael Egan on April 15, alleging teen sex abuse. The case alleges that Singer committed the abuse in Hawaii in 1999. In filing for the dismissal, Singer cites Egan’s own 2003 sword deposition during which he states that he had never been to Hawaii.
Singer filed a motion to dismiss based on lack of jurisdiction, as the deposition from 2003 would indicate that Singer was not in Hawaii with Egan in 1999, and that there was no sexual abuse. That deposition was in relation to a 2000 suit that also alleged sexual abuse around the same time, though with different defendants.
In a sworn statement, Singer indicates that he was in Canada filming “X-Men” in 1999 from August to October, save for a trip to California for business and another to New England to visit family. This is the same time that the alleged abuse in Hawaii was to have taken place.
Singer further alleges in the dismissal filing that the timing of Egan’s 2014 case, shortly before the release of his latest “X-Men” film, was orchestrated “to maximize public attention on the eve of the picture’s release.”
The filing goes on to say that “the timing of this action and inclusion of its sordid (and provably false) allegations are nothing more than tools being used to embarrass, harass, and pressure Singer and precipitate a shakedown of a perceived ‘deep pocket.’”
Also read: Bryan Singer, Gary Goddard Named in New Sex Abuse Lawsuit (Updated)
The document claims that since the plaintiff, Egan, cannot refute that Singer was not in Hawaii during the relevant period, the court cannot assert jurisdiction over Singer, a non-resident of Hawaii.
The filing states that conclusive evidence establishes that neither Singer nor Egan were in Hawaii during the alleged abuse, and so the complaint must be dismissed on that ground.
Along with Singer, Egan has filed separate lawsuits against Gary Goddard, David Neuman and Garth Ancier for alleged sexual abuse during the same time period. All four men have denied the allegations, which sit before the same judge in Hawaii’s federal court. Last week, Neuman filed his own motion to dismiss the case against him.