Lawyers for Mayor Adams have told the court they will seek to have the sexual assault lawsuit against the mayor dismissed after the mayor’s accuser, Lorna Beach-Mathura, missed a deposition that had been scheduled for Sept. 6.
“In the nearly ten months since Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit, she has refused to appear for her deposition on four separate occasions, and each time without any justification under the law,” wrote lawyer Alex Spiro in a court filing Monday.
Beach-Mathura most recently skipped a deposition set for Sept. 6, with no prior warning and no explanation given since, according to the lawyer, who called it “only the latest episode in a months-long pattern of Plaintiff’s willful delay and frustration of the discovery process.”
Beach-Mathura and her attorneys had rejected previous potential dates for the deposition in May, July and August, saying they needed to review more materials before doing the deposition.
Sept. 6, the date of the fourth attempt for the deposition, “was the latest date” the lead counsel for Adams could do, Spiro wrote.
The lawyer also accused Beach-Mathura of withholding records, including information about where and when the alleged assault took place, who could corroborate interactions between Beach-Mathura and Adams and information about how Adams’ alleged misconduct impacted her.
If the court cannot dismiss the complaint, Spiro wrote, the defendants should be awarded attorneys’ fees for preparing for the deposition and making the associated court filings.
At a contentious court hearing in August, Beach-Mathura and Adams lawyers accused each other of withholding information — with the accuser’s lawyer, Megan Goddard, even threatening to sue the mayor’s lawyer for defamation.
In August, Goddard also accused Adams’ legal team of withholding records, including employment information, so that Beach-Mathura might mistakenly say the wrong timeframe for the alleged assault.
Beach-Mathura, a former Transit Police employee, has accused Adams of exposing himself and attempting to get her to perform oral sex on her in his car after they met to discuss a job issue. Adams ejaculated on her leg after she refused, the suit claims.
Adams has denied the 1993 alleged assault happened. The suit, which seeks at least $5 million in damages, was filed earlier this year under the Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window for victims of sexual offenses to sue their assailants if the statute of limitations had expired.
Court filings show Beach-Mathura retained a new attorney, Nathaniel K. Charny, last Friday. He did not return a request for comment late Monday. Megan Goddard, the attorney who first helped Beach-Mathura file the case against Adams, confirmed to the Daily News that she’s also still representing her.
Goddard would not immediately say why Beach-Mathura allegedly was a no-show for her deposition.
With Chris Sommerfeldt
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