Swift scores groping trial win as DJ’s suit dismissed
Pop star Taylor Swift yesterday won an important ruling in the trial stemming from her allegation that she was groped by a Colorado disc jockey, with the judge dismissing the DJ’s rival claim accusing the singer of wrongfully getting him fired.
The ruling by US District Judge William Martinez left intact Swift’s assault and battery countersuit against David Mueller, who asserts he was falsely accused by the recording star and ousted from his US$150,000-a-year job at radio station KYGO-FM under pressure from her.
The Grammy-winning artist known for such hits as Fearless and I Knew You Were Trouble reacted to the decision with tears of joy, embracing members of her legal team and family members with bear hugs in the courtroom. Mueller sat alone at the plaintiff’s table, appearing sombre as he sipped a glass of water.
The decision capped the fifth day of a trial highlighted by vivid testimony from Swift alleging that Mueller clutched her bare buttocks during a pre-concert fan reception in 2013, against Mueller’s assertion under oath that he did no such thing.
The judge had tossed out Mueller’s defamation of character claim against Swift before the trial, ruling that the former Denver DJ had waited too long to file his lawsuit under the statute of limitations.
Earlier yesterday, Swift’s former bodyguard corroborated her account of being groped by Mueller, testifying that he saw the radio personality slip his hand under the singer’s skirt as they posed together for a photo with Mueller’s then-girlfriend.
Lawyers for both sides rested their respective cases after the exgirlfriend, Shannon Melcher, took the stand as the final witness to deny seeing Mueller inappropriately touch Swift. But added: ‘‘I don’t have eyes in back of my head.’’
After the jurors were excused for the day, Swift’s lawyer, J Douglas Baldridge, asked the judge to throw out Mueller’s two remaining legal claims in the trial – disruption of his employment contract she the and interference earnings.
Swift has said her representatives lodged a complaint with KYGO’s management about the alleged groping but insists that she never demanded that Mueller be fired.
The with eight-member his jury future will be left to decide whether Mueller is liable for assault and battery, for which Swift is seeking a symbolic US$1 in damages.
Swift, known for baring her soul and her grudges in her music, by all accounts was the undisputed star witness of her own trial, giving an unflinching account of the incident in question on Friday.
In unvarnished language that occasionally drew titters in the courtroom, even from some jurors, Swift testified that she was the victim of a ‘‘devious and sneaky act.’’
Greg Dent, Swift’s bodyguard and a former police officer who said he had provided security for many other celebrities, bolstered her narrative when he took the stand yesterday.
‘‘I saw his hand under her skirt ... Her skirt went up ... She jumped,’’ Dent testified, adding that Swift then moved closer to Mueller’s girlfriend, who was standing on Swift’s other side.
‘‘I was definitely sure that he had been drinking,’’ Dent said of Mueller. ‘‘I don’t know what level. He wasn’t staggering or falling down.’’
The photo, repeatedly displayed in court, shows Swift flanked by Mueller and Melcher. Mueller has his right hand concealed behind Swift’s backside, and she appears to have shifted her hip away from him.
Dent said he did not immediately intervene because he took his cues from Swift, who continued with the meet-and-greet session. She told her staff about the groping after she had finished meeting her fans, he said.
The jury is due to return on Tuesday for closing arguments in the case.