A federal judge on Monday rejected Kevin Spacey's bid to dismiss a civil lawsuit in which fellow actor Anthony Rapp accused the Oscar winner of making an unwanted sexual advance during a party at Spacey's Manhattan home in 1986, when Rapp was 14.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said there was a genuine factual dispute about whether Spacey forcibly touched Rapp's "intimate parts" to gratify his own sexual desire.
Mr Kaplan said Rapp, who is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, can pursue claims of battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The judge dismissed an assault claim because Rapp brought it too late.
A lawyer for Spacey did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Spacey, 62, has in court papers "categorically" denied Rapp's accusations.
Rapp's lawyer Peter Saghir declined to comment.
Once among Hollywood's biggest stars, Spacey fell from grace after Rapp accused him of misconduct in October 2017, and more accusers came forward.
-
Spacey at a pre-trial hearing at district court in Nantucket, Massachusetts in June 2019. AP -
Kevin Spacey arrives to face a charge of sexual assault at Nantucket District Court in Nantucket, Massachusetts, on January 7, 2019. Reuters -
Spacey remained silent during his appearance at Nantucket District Court. Reuters -
Spacey won a best supporting actor Academy Award for his work portraying the limping criminal Verbal Kint in 1995’s 'The Usual Suspects'. Courtesy MGM Studios -
Spacey stands in district court during arraignment on a charge of indecent assault and battery in Nantucket. The Inquirer and Mirror / AP -
Spacey in 'House of Cards'. Photo: Netflix / AP -
Spacey arrives at Nantucket District Court in Massachusetts on January 7, 2019. Reuters -
Spacey accepts a Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama with 'House of Cards'. AFP -
Spacey as Richard III in a version of the Shakespeare play directed by Sam Mendes in 2012 at The Old Vic Theatre in London. AP
Last month, Britain authorised criminal charges against Spacey for alleged sexual assaults against three men between 2005 and 2013. Spacey could formally face the charges if he entered England or Wales.
The actor's awards have included Oscars in 2000 for best actor in American Beauty and in 1996 for best supporting actor in The Usual Suspects. He also won a Tony in 1991 for best featured actor in a play in Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers.
Netflix dropped Spacey from his starring role in House of Cards after accusations began surfacing, and the series finished without him.
In the alleged 1986 encounter, Spacey grabbed Rapp's buttocks, lifted him on to a bed and laid on him before Rapp "wriggled out", court papers say.
Rapp has said under oath that there was no kissing, undressing, reaching under clothes, sexualised statements or innuendo, and the encounter lasted no more than two minutes.
He sued Spacey in September 2020 and invoked the Child Victims Act, a New York law giving accusers a since-expired window to sue over abuses from decades earlier.
