Judge OKs class-action lawsuit against Rozon
A Superior Court judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit against Gilbert Rozon, filed by a group of women who allege they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the Just for Laughs founder.
The lawsuit — filed by a group of women who call themselves “Les Courageuses” — alleges Rozon assaulted more than 20 women between 1982 and 2016. It includes anyone who was allegedly assaulted and/or harassed by Rozon.
The suit alleges Rozon is a sexual predator who took advantage of the “silence, embarrassment and the fears of his victims to continue his predatory behaviour.”
Rozon “vigorously” contested the request for a class-action lawsuit, arguing that “each alleged sexual assault should be studied individually,” according to the ruling by Justice Donald Bisson.
However, the court held that a class action was appropriate if there are multiple victims over a long period of time and the total number of victims is not known at the beginning of the legal process.
If the class action wasn’t authorized, there is a strong possibility that many alleged victims would be deprived of their right to sue, the judge wrote.
Rozon also argued in court that “charming (women) using his power is not itself a fault,” the ruling says, and that it was not his responsibility to question why women consented to his advances.
However, the judge said those explanations didn’t correspond with the allegations of Patricia Tulasne, “who was not charmed by her boss.”
She has alleged “he forced himself into her apartment, he threw her against a wall, he threw himself on her, he began to take off her dress and to kiss her by force, he dropped his pants and coldly, without putting on a condom, he sexually assaulted her, he ejaculated, he put on his pants and he left,” according to the ruling, which was not on the allegations themselves.
“The case of the designated member does not correspond at all with the coarse and distorted trivialization presented by M. Rozon,” Bisson wrote.
The case seeks more than $10 million in damages.
Rozon has denied all the allegations against him.
He resigned from his role at Just for Laughs in October, and sold his shares in the company, after the allegations came to light.
Rozon pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in 1998.