Another Sex Abuse Case Linked To Bryan Singer’s Is Withdrawn, But His Legal Troubles May Not Be Over

When Michael Egan launched his sex abuse lawsuit against Bryan Singer, his lawyer Jerry Herman said it would be just the beginning, and further lawsuits would be filed as he claimed he was going to uncover the large scale abuse of underage men in Hollywood.

While further lawsuits were filed in Hawaii (due to an extension there of the statute of limitations) against TV exec Garth Ancier, former Disney TV president David Neuman and Broadway producer Gary Goddard, problems almost immediately arose. Evidence was uncovered where Egan had said under oath in a previous lawsuit that Neuman had never behaved inappropriately towards him. A few weeks later the case against Neuman was withdrawn.

Now Egan has dropped his case against Garth Ancier, according to THR. However neither Neuman or Ancier is completely out of the water, as shortly after dropping his case against Neuman in Hawaii, Egan filed another one in California, claiming he’d previously cleared the exec “under fear, threats, and duress.” That case was technically filed against ‘John Doe’, but it’s almost certain it’s targeting Neuman. However due to the statute of limitations in California and Egan’s previous statements, the new suit does have massive hurdles even being able to get to trial (indeed many wonder whether the ‘John Doe’ tactic is so Herman can try to get past the early obstacles, as it would be makes it more difficult for Neuman to stop him).

Herman also filed suits on behalf of Egan against three other John Doe defendants in California last week. The presumption is that Ancier is one of them (it’s too early to say is Singer and Goddard are the other two), and the lawsuit is part of Herman’s realisation it’s going to be very difficult to prove a case against any of the men in Hawaii, but may be more possible in California if he can get past the initial, admittedly massive, legal and procedural issues.

Ancier’s attorney commented, “We are pleased the case filed in Hawaii against Mr. Ancier has been dropped given it had no merit whatsoever. Mr. Ancier was undeserving of the stain to his reputation caused by the plaintiff’s reckless complaint, which was grounded in lies. We are equally confident that just as this case imploded when the facts became known, any further legal maneuvers or gimmicks will fail because unsupported statements, falsehoods and character smears have no place in any court.”