Judge dismisses personal injury lawsuit against Knicks owners James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein

SAN FRANCISCO – A U.S. district judge has dismissed a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed that New York Knicks owner James Dolan sexually abused her a decade ago and then framed her for imprisoned movie mogul Harvey Weinstein so she could be sexually assaulted.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit filed in January by Kellye Croft in Los Angeles. Anderson said Croft failed to make a credible case that she was paid for sex under the federal Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

The judge also declined to hear their state, not federal, claims against Dolan for sexual assault and aiding and abetting sexual assault, and against Weinstein for sexual assault and attempted rape.

Croft's lawyers wrote on X that they disagree with the decision, saying it “misinterprets federal sex trafficking law and undermines critically important protections for sex trafficking victims,” ​​according to attorneys Meredith Firetog and Kevin Mintzer of Wigdor LLP.

Dolan spokesman Mikyl Cordova said in an email Wednesday that the lawsuit was “a malicious attempt by an unscrupulous law firm to make horrific allegations.”

Weinstein's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment, but also denied Croft's claims at the time the lawsuit was filed in January.

According to the lawsuit, Croft was a trained massage therapist in 2013 and worked on an Eagles tour during which Dolan's band JD & The Straight Shot opened for the rock band. Dolan allegedly used his influence on the tour to repeatedly manipulate and pressure Croft into “submitting to sex with him,” the lawsuit says. It alleges that Dolan arranged a meeting between Croft and Weinstein, a friend of his, in a hotel elevator in early 2014. In her lawsuit, she alleged that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room.

The Associated Press typically does not name people who report sexual assault unless they come forward publicly or consent to their names being used, as Croft did.

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This story has been updated to correct that the comment on Dolan's behalf came from his spokesman, not the law firm representing him.