Sophia Michaels
Trey Songz won the definitive dismissal of a $20 million sexual assault lawsuit that had been filed, dismissed and then re-filed by a Jane Doe accuser.
The anonymous plaintiff, who alleges Songz— real name Tremaine Neverson — anally raped her at a party in March 2016, previously missed an Oct. 19, 2022, deadline to file a rebuttal to Neverson’s claim that the statute of limitations on her allegations had expired.
At a hearing Tuesday morning, which Jane Doe’s lawyer failed to attend, a Los Angeles judge essentially stated she had no choice but to grant the singer-songwriter’s request that the case centered on claims of sexual assault, battery, rape, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress be rejected without leave to amend.
Jane Doe’s lawyer, George Vrabeck, declined to speak with Rolling Stone when reached by phone Tuesday night.
“The court finds (Neverson’s) argument persuasive, and plaintiff was required to present argument and facts to show that the pleading defect can be cured. Because plaintiff did not file an opposition, plaintiff has not met her burden. The court finds the action to be time-barred,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Shirley K. Watkins wrote in her decision obtained by Rolling Stone.
The unidentified accuser first sued Neverson in February, saying he violently sodomized her at a party in West Hills, Calif., on March 24, 2016. The woman said she had consented to sexual intercourse with Neverson on prior occasions but made it clear the night of the alleged rape that she did not consent to anal penetration.
According to her lawsuit, the woman was so distraught when she entered an Uber after the alleged assault that her “observant” driver rerouted her to a local hospital where medical staff allegedly determined she had “severe anal tearing that could require surgery.”
Jane Doe claimed Burbank Police officers tried to interview her at the hospital, but she was in shock and “fearing for her life,” so she did not name Neverson as her assailant. She claimed in her complaint that the incident caused her to suffer from “fear, anxiety, humiliation, depression, and other physical and emotional injuries.”
Her lawyer, George Vrabeck, later asked the court to dismiss the case on July 6. He then refiled the lawsuit with an additional claim of negligence two days later on July 8.
Neverson, who has faced public accusations of sexual assault, domestic abuse, or harassment from multiple women, denied Jane Doe’s allegations and filed a demurrer in August.
“Even if plaintiff’s allegations are true – and defendant vehemently maintains they are not – plaintiff’s claims are facially time-barred under the applicable two-year statute of limitations,” Neverson’s paperwork filed by his lawyer Randall M. Awad read.
Awad did not respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone late Tuesday.
Back in April, a woman demanded a $5 million settlement from Neverson after he allegedly groped her at a party.
In January, former college basketball player Dylan Gonzalez accused Neverson of raping her nine years ago. An investigation into Gonzalez’s claims appeared to reach a dead end in April, with police deciding not to pursue charges unless new evidence emerges.
In December 2021, Jauhara Jeffries refiled a lawsuit in Miami, claiming Neverson assaulted her at a nightclub at a New Year’s party in 2018.
Years before that, Neverson’s ex-girlfriend Andrea Buera stepped forward to claim the singer choked and punched her in a jealous rage in 2018. Neverson was arrested in connection with the allegations, but prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges citing a lack of evidence.
