Crystal Castles' Alice Glass performs on day one of the Austin City Limits Music Festival's first weekend on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Austin, Texas. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP
Republished February 27, 2018 - 12:02 PM
Original Publication Date February 27, 2018 - 11:16 AM
TORONTO - A lawyer for Alice Glass says the former Crystal Castles singer will ask a Los Angeles court to grant a reimbursement of her legal fees after a defamation lawsuit filed by her former bandmate was dismissed.
Vicki Greco, who represents Glass, will return to court on April 3 to seek roughly US$20,000 in legal fee payments from Claudio Palmieri, who performs under the stage name Ethan Kath.
Kath launched a defamation suit against Glass, whose real name is Margaret Osborn, in November after she accused him of physical and emotional abuse that included non-consensual sex dating back to when she was 15 years old. Kath has denied the allegations and none of them have been proven in court.
The defamation case was thrown out last week after Glass proved detailed comments she made about her experience on social media fell under her U.S. First Amendment rights. The court found her statements were made in the public interest as part of recent conversations tied to the #MeToo movement.
Kath's representatives were unable to produce further evidence to support a claim of defamation.
Under California law, the decision entitles Glass to pursue a "reasonable" repayment of attorney fees.
"She's thrilled, obviously, with the granting of this motion," Greco said in an interview Tuesday.
"She continues to receive negative or false statements on social media and the Internet. So, she's hoping people will understand that this was not a technicality, that Ethan was unable to meet his burden (of proof)."
Kath's lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.
Toronto police confirmed earlier this month that an investigation of Kath is ongoing in the sex crimes unit.
Greco said her client doesn't have any plans to pursue a legal action in regards to her past experiences in Crystal Castles.
"I don't necessarily think that the court would be the appropriate venue for that," she said.
"Obviously she is working on her own music, she's announced a tour, so I think it's more of a personal journey. She's working on moving forward and getting beyond this."
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News from © The Canadian Press, 2018