British author Neil Gaiman has called the claims a “sham”.
Photo: Neil Gaiman / Instagram
The sexual assault lawsuit against author Neil Gaiman has been dismissed by a US judge, who has ruled that New Zealand is the “more appropriate forum for resolving this dispute”.
The case relates to allegations from New Zealander Scarlett Pavlovich that Gaiman repeatedly raped her while she worked for him and singer Amanda Palmer in 2022, causing physical, mental and emotional harm.
The British author has denied the claims but argued that as the alleged abuses occurred in New Zealand – where Pavlovich is a citizen and Gaiman has permanent residency status – the US had no jurisdiction over the allegations.
Pavlovich sued Gaiman, author of The Sandman comic book series and the novel American Gods, while Palmer was accused of knowing that Pavlovich was vulnerable, and failing to warn that Gaiman had a history of predatory behaviour, according to court papers.
The lawsuits sought unspecified damages that were “reasonably believed” to exceed US$1 million (NZ$1.7m) on multiple claims, Reuters reported.
But US District Judge James D Peterson of Wisconsin has this week found in favour of Gaiman’s motion to dismiss the case on the jurisdictional grounds.
“The only connection that Wisconsin or the United States has with this lawsuit is that Gaiman has a residence in this state and he may live here currently. All of the relevant events occurred in New Zealand, Pavlovich is a New Zealand citizen, both parties were living in New Zealand during the relevant time, all relevant evidence and most potential witnesses are located in New Zealand. Gaiman and Amanda Palmer now live in the United States, but both of them have agreed to accept service in New Zealand.
“Under these circumstances, it is clear that New Zealand is the more appropriate forum for resolving this dispute, so the court will dismiss the case without prejudice.”
Peterson said if Pavlovich sued Gaiman in New Zealand, and the author refused to accept service there, Pavlovich could move to reopen this case.
Peterson also made it clear that there had been no evaluation of the evidence in the case, and this was not a statement on whether the allegations were true or not.
In his motion to dismiss, Gaiman called the claims a “sham”, saying while he and Pavlovich did engage in “sexual activity”, they never had sexual intercourse and it was always consensual.
“None of Pavlovich’s claims are true,” Gaiman said.
Pavlovich earlier this year painted a very different picture of the events in a 13 January interview with Vulture, a US entertainment news page for the New York Magazine.
Pavlovich said she agreed to baby-sit the couple’s child, but soon Gaiman began sexually abusing her, including by raping her, choking her, and assaulting her in the presence of his child, according to court papers.
The abuse allegedly lasted several weeks, until Gaiman and his child left for Europe.
At the time, she was 22 and Gaiman was 61.
Following the publication of the allegations, Gaiman wrote that he had “never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.”
On social media, Palmer has said: “As there are ongoing custody and divorce proceedings, I am not able to offer public comment.”
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