A lawsuit against James Dolan filed by his former masseuse, who leveled allegations of sex trafficking and accused him of orchestrating an encounter with Harvey Weinstein that led to a sexual assault, has been dismissed.
In the complaint filed in January in federal court in California, Kellye Croft said she met Dolan in 2013 as an employee of the Eagles’ tour. Dolan’s band, JD & The Straight Shot, was the opening act through her ties to the classic rock group’s management company, Azoff Music Management. According to the suit, the owner of MSG Entertainment began a sexual relationship with Croft in 2014. She alleged she was trafficked across the country “under fraudulent pretenses for (him) to engage in unlawful and unwanted sexual acts with her.”
Kevin Mintzer and Meredith Firetog, Croft’s attorneys, said in a statement that they will appeal the decision. “We respectfully disagree with the District Court’s decision, which we believe misinterprets federal sex trafficking law and undermines critically important protections for sex trafficking survivors,” they added. “We will also continue to pursue Ms. Croft’s sexual assault claims against James Dolan and Harvey Weinstein, which are not affected by the decision.”
A representative for Dolan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit’s dismissal hinged on whether Croft should be allowed to pursue her sex trafficking claim, which revolved around allegations that she had been transported across state lines for fraudulent purposes to provide sexual favors to Dolan. Croft alleged that Azoff Music Management, at her request, lied to her by telling her she was needed for massage services for the Eagles when, in fact, she had been placed at Dolan’s hotel to facilitate sexual encounters with him.
U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson concluded that the suit failed to sufficiently allege a commercial sex act, “that something of value was provided to Plaintiff in exchange for engaging in the alleged sexual relationship with Dolan.”
In exchange for sex, Croft alleged that Dolan’s tour manager paid her $8,400, a round-trip plane ticket and a stay of several nights at a luxury hotel.
The court said she received those benefits because she was hired on the tour as a masseuse.
With the dismissal of the sex trafficking complaint, allegations of sexual assault and helping Weinstein assault Croft were also dismissed because the court does not have jurisdiction over lawsuits based on state law.
The suit also named MSG Entertainment and Azoff Company, which represented the Eagles and The Straight Shot. Croft claimed the company, as well as other corporate defendants, perpetrated sex trafficking by “transporting her to California for the purpose of providing sexual favors.” Dolan was a “critically important business partner” after Madison Square Garden invested $175 million in Azoff MSG Entertainment and served as a source of funding for the Eagles’ 2014 tour, according to the suit.
