Bid to nix sex suit
Clothing big: It just doesn’t fit in N.Y. court
Attorneys for globally-known clothier Peter Nygard, arguing New York’s courts are the wrong venue, called for the dismissal of the sordid sexual abuse lawsuit brought against him by dozens of accusers.
The 51-page Manhattan Federal Court filing noted that Nygard is not a citizen of the United States, does not live in New York City, never paid any New York taxes and spent most of his time in recent years in Canada. Nygard, in a four-page statement filed Wednesday with the other arguments, asserted his ties to New York are tenuous at best.
“New York City has been described as the Nygard ‘world’ or ‘corporate’ headquarters,” he wrote. “This was done for promotional and marketing purposes, to connect the Nygard brand to New York City, arguably the most well-known city for fashion in the world.”
The 78year-old defendant’s legal team additionally sought to throw out allegations made by 50 of the 57 accusers, and to dismiss the class action case due to the statute of limitations — and because the charges against the high-flying defendant are based “entirely on conduct that allegedly occurred outside of the United States.”
Thirty-eight of the plaintiffs “waited at least 10 years to file suit from the time of the last alleged act underlying her claims,” the court papers stated. “Some waited more than 20, 30, and even 40 years.”
A Thursday email for comment from the attorney representing the class action defendants was not immediately returned. But Nygard’s attorneys argued that New York was clearly the wrong place for the legal action to continue.
“This court lacks general jurisdiction over Mr. Nygard and Nygard Holdings because they were not present in New York when served, and when this lawsuit was brought, neither of them was domiciled in New York, ‘doing business’ in New York, or found ‘at home’ in New York,” the defendant’s court papers maintained.
The accusers laid out a disturbing tale of Nygard’s alleged sexual perversions, with so-called “pamper parties” at his Bahamas home and underaged victims targeted by the millionaire businessman.
Nygard’s defense team previously alleged the client’s billionaire Bahamas neighor Louis Bacon was trying to “destroy” the clothing magnate as the latest twist in a an epic feud that dates back more than a decade. Nygard is involved in a separate legal battle accusing Bacon of funding and orchestrating the sexual abuse lawsuit.