A recent Los Angeles court ruling has seen a partial victory for Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler in a sexual assault lawsuit filed against him in late 2022. The lawsuit, filed by Julia Misley, alleged that Tyler engaged in a s*xual relationship with her when she was a teenager in the 1970s.
The crux of the recent court decision hinged on a particular claim lodged by Julia Misley in her lawsuit against Steven Tyler: intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). This claim centred on the alleged emotional harm she suffered due to details revealed in Tyler’s memoirs.
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Secondly, the defence pointed to the statute of limitations in California for IIED claims. They argued that Misley waited a significant amount of time, over two decades, to file this specific portion of her lawsuit. Statutes of limitations set deadlines for filing legal claims, and exceeding that deadline can result in the claim being dismissed. In this case, the court agreed with Tyler’s team, finding that Misley had missed the window to pursue the IIED claim based on the memoirs.
This legal win for Tyler comes after another lawsuit against him was dismissed earlier this year. A New York judge threw out a separate sexual assault case filed in 2022, citing the plaintiff’s delay in filing the accusation and the specific legal framework surrounding historical abuse claims in New York City.
It’s crucial to remember that these court decisions address procedural matters, not the truth of the allegations themselves. Tyler has vehemently denied all accusations and maintains that any relationships were consensual. However, these lawsuits have undoubtedly cast a shadow over his career.
Misley’s lawsuit still includes allegations of sexual assault and s*xual battery, which are currently ongoing. It’s important to allow the legal process to unfold before drawing definitive conclusions.
-Sushmita Sarkar