Judge gives Strauss-Kahn civil suit go ahead
Source: Agencies |
May 2, 2012, Wednesday
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A hotel maid's sexual assault lawsuit against Dominique Strauss-Kahn can go forward to trial, a judge ruled yesterday, rebuffing the former International Monetary Fund leader's claim of diplomatic immunity.
Bronx state Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon's ruling kept alive the civil case that emerged from the May 2011 hotel room encounter that also led to now-dismissed criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn.
Nafissatou Diallo, 33, said Strauss-Kahn, 63, tried to rape her when she arrived to clean his Manhattan hotel suite. Strauss-Kahn denied doing anything violent during the encounter.
Prosecutors dropped criminal charges last summer, saying they had doubts about Diallo's trustworthiness because she had lied about her background and her actions. She has insisted she told the truth about what happened in the encounter.
Strauss-Kahn did not assert immunity from the criminal prosecution, and he resigned his IMF job days after his arrest. But his lawyers argued he should be immune from the civil lawsuit, which was filed about three months later.
They pointed to a 1947 United Nations agreement that afforded the privilege to heads of "specialized agencies," including the International Monetary Fund. Although the United States did not sign that agreement, Strauss-Kahn's attorneys said it has gained such broad acceptance elsewhere that it has become what's known as "customary international law."
Although Strauss-Kahn no longer had the IMF job when sued, his lawyers argued he still had immunity because an international agreement gives diplomats a "reasonable" amount of time to leave host countries before immunity expires.
But Diallo's lawyers said that an IMF spokesman said after Strauss-Kahn's arrest that he did not have immunity because he was on personal business during his encounter with Diallo. Strauss-Kahn was visiting his daughter in New York.
Diallo's lawyers called the ruling "well-reasoned and articulate."
Strauss-Kahn's attorneys had no immediate comment.
Bronx state Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon's ruling kept alive the civil case that emerged from the May 2011 hotel room encounter that also led to now-dismissed criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn.
Nafissatou Diallo, 33, said Strauss-Kahn, 63, tried to rape her when she arrived to clean his Manhattan hotel suite. Strauss-Kahn denied doing anything violent during the encounter.
Prosecutors dropped criminal charges last summer, saying they had doubts about Diallo's trustworthiness because she had lied about her background and her actions. She has insisted she told the truth about what happened in the encounter.
Strauss-Kahn did not assert immunity from the criminal prosecution, and he resigned his IMF job days after his arrest. But his lawyers argued he should be immune from the civil lawsuit, which was filed about three months later.
They pointed to a 1947 United Nations agreement that afforded the privilege to heads of "specialized agencies," including the International Monetary Fund. Although the United States did not sign that agreement, Strauss-Kahn's attorneys said it has gained such broad acceptance elsewhere that it has become what's known as "customary international law."
Although Strauss-Kahn no longer had the IMF job when sued, his lawyers argued he still had immunity because an international agreement gives diplomats a "reasonable" amount of time to leave host countries before immunity expires.
But Diallo's lawyers said that an IMF spokesman said after Strauss-Kahn's arrest that he did not have immunity because he was on personal business during his encounter with Diallo. Strauss-Kahn was visiting his daughter in New York.
Diallo's lawyers called the ruling "well-reasoned and articulate."
Strauss-Kahn's attorneys had no immediate comment.
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