Russell Simmons' legal team says $10 million rape lawsuit is 'work of pure fiction'
Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons has responded to a Jane Doe lawsuit that accuses him of forcible rape, calling the suit a "work of pure fiction" and an attempt "to extort large sums of money."
In the $10 million lawsuit, which was filed March 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by ABC News, the woman alleges that she spent time with Simmons at a nightclub following a concert in 1988, and went with him to his hotel room after he told her he needed to retrieve an item.
In the suit, she alleges the Def Jam Records co-founder sexually threatened her and her young son -- who had also attended the concert -- and subsequently threw her on the bed and raped her.
ABC News has obtained a response filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Simmons' lawyer, Patricia Glaser.
It states, "Plaintiff's Complaint is a work of pure fiction. Her use of two of the most vile allegations possible – accusing well known defendant Russell Simmons of threatening to molest her son before raping her – is nothing more than an attempt by 'Jane Doe' to extort large sums of money from Mr. Simmons."
Simmons' legal team is calling for the case to be dismissed, with the response further declaring, "While Plaintiff's case is substantively baseless and utterly false, all three causes of action ultimately will fail on statute of limitations grounds."
Prior to this latest legal response, Simmons issued a statement on March 26 in which he denied the woman’s allegations.
This isn't the first time Simmons has been accused of assault in recent months.
The New York Police Department opened an investigation this past December into allegations by multiple women that Simmons sexually harassed or raped them. He also denied those claims.
"I vehemently deny all these allegations. These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual," Simmons said in a statement to ABC News at the time.
Another accuser, Jennifer Jarosik, filed a $5 million lawsuit against Simmons earlier this year.
In January, Simmons called the allegation "absolutely untrue" and, in a statement to ABC News, said, "I look forward to having my day in court."
In that case, he contends they met in 2006 and maintained a "casual acquaintance" over the years, where any sex between the two was consenual. His legal team also filed earlier this month to have the case dismissed.
