Vin Diesel will not face further trial in Los Angeles in a sexual battery lawsuit a former assistant filed against the “Fast and the Furious” star two years ago.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed the complaint from Diesel's accuser, Asta Jonasson, citing a technicality.
Jonasson stated in her lawsuit: filed December 2023that she worked as Diesel's assistant in 2010 while filming Fast Five in Atlanta and alleged that the actor raped her in a hotel room.
Her lawsuit made 10 claims, including sexual battery, retaliation and multiple violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The complaint also sought action against Diesel's production company One Race Films and its president Samantha Vincent, Diesel's sister.
Judge Daniel M. Crowley called Jonasson's argument “untenable” and contrary to the meaning of state legal code as outlined in his dismissal document. Additionally, because the sexual assault allegedly occurred in Georgia, the judge said California was not the appropriate jurisdiction to file the complaint.
Crowley said California law cannot “apply to any of Plaintiff's claims.”
The case was due to go to trial in February before a ruling on Wednesday. Jonasson's attorney, Matthew T. Hale, said in a statement Wednesday that “the Court has made no determination as to the truth of Ms. Jonasson's allegations.”
“The decision was based on a legal technicality,” Hale said. “We disagree with the decision and are evaluating next steps.”
A legal representative for Diesel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
In her complaint, Jonasson alleged that Diesel groped her, pinned her against a wall and put his hand on his genitals without her consent during a meeting in a hotel room. The 58-year-old actress, through lawyer Brian Friedman, denied the allegations shortly after Jonasson filed her complaint.
“This is the first time he has heard of this more than 13-year-old statement made by an alleged nine-day employee,” Friedman said. “There is clear evidence that completely refutes these outlandish allegations.”
