Rudy Giuliani loses bid to stop $10 million Noelle Dunphy sex assault lawsuit
Published in News & Features
NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge Tuesday denied Rudy Giuliani’s motion to dismiss a $10 million lawsuit brought by a woman who claims the former mayor subjected her to sexual assault, “alcohol-drenched rants” and withheld $2 million in wages, instead ordering the years-old case to proceed promptly to discovery.
In a seven-page decision, state Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Moyne found Noelle Dunphy had sufficiently stated her allegations against Giuliani, 81, and gave him 20 days to respond to them.
“The court finds that the amended complaint states legally cognizable claims upon which relief can be granted. Factual disputes over the credibility of (Dunphy’s) narrative or the exact contours of the relationship are reserved for summary judgment or trial,” the judge wrote.
“The parties shall continue with discovery immediately.
Dunphy’s May 2023 lawsuit alleges Giuliani hired her in January 2019 as his director of business development for a promised salary of $1 million and claimed he would pay her once his bitter divorce with Judith Nathan was finalized. As an incentive, the former Trump adviser allegedly offered Dunphy pro bono services in an ongoing domestic violence case involving her abusive ex, her suit details.
Over the following two years, Dunphy alleges that she worked around-the-clock for Giuliani for no pay and that he sexually assaulted her several times, usually after he was drinking. She claims she was fired in January 2021 after confronting Giuliani about his behavior and never got paid for the two years under his employ.
In addition to the alleged assaults, Dunphy’s complaint, which includes claims for battery, assault, sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment, accuses Giuliani of endlessly disparaging her with misogynistic and degrading comments, many of which she details surreptitiously recording.
In denying the allegations, Giuliani has claimed he and Dunphy, 45, had a brief romantic fling and that she was never his employee.
His motion to dismiss the suit, among other positions, argued Dunphy had failed to adequately make the allegation she was subjected to gender-based animus in filing a claim under the Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law.
“The defendants are wrong,” Moyne wrote Tuesday. “Because Ms. Dunphy explicitly alleges nonconsensual sexual intercourse and oral sex, the animus requirement is satisfied at the pleading stage. Furthermore, the amended complaint details numerous misogynistic and degrading remarks made by Giuliani, providing independent support for gender-based animus.”
In a statement to the New York Daily News, Dunphy’s attorney, Justin Kelton, said her team was grateful for the decision.
“The court’s decision is a complete vindication for our brave client on every single issue, and every single argument, spanning all 22 causes of action,” Kelton said. “We are grateful to the court for its thoughtful analysis of the issues, and our client is looking forward to the next steps.”
The Daily News reached out to Giuliani, a representative and a lawyer who has assisted in his defense in the case. While submerged in debt and fighting several civil and criminal cases, Giuliani represented himself in the lawsuit at one point.
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