Ratner accuser asks court to drop libel suit

Los Angeles Jan 4 (IANS) Melanie Kohler a Hawaiian woman who accused Hollywood producer Brett Ratner of raping her last year has filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the libel suit.

Kohler s lawyers contend that Ratner s suit consisted of little more than "threadbare conclusory allegations" which fail to meet the minimum requirements for a libel complaint variety.com reports.

They also argued that Ratner s suit was intended to intimidate other women from coming forward with allegations.

In October Kohler wrote a Facebook post alleging that Ratner raped her in 2004 or 2005. She took the post down within two hours after receiving a call from Ratner s attorney.

"Stripped of its conclusory allegations the complaint is essentially a blank piece of paper. It lacks any factual allegation from which this court can infer that Kohler s FB post was false or was published with actual malice " Kohler s attorneys wrote.

Kohler s attorneys also argued the suit should be dismissed under California s anti-SLAPP statute which limits lawsuits intended to chill public speech.

In a filing last week Ratner s attorneys said they would seek to limit Kohler s ability to use the discovery process to explore other sexual misconduct allegations against him.

--IANS
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