US: X-Men director Bryan Singer files for court costs, summary judgement in sex abuse case
X-Men director Bryan Singer has filed for summary judgement in the sex abuse case brought against him, and is demanding that plaintiff pay his court costs and fees.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Michael Egan, revolves around alleged ‘sex parties’ in Hawaii and California, but Singer maintains he was in Toronto filming the first X-Men movie at the time of the allegations.
Submitting a motion calling for summary judgement on Thursday, negating the need for a trial, he claimed Egan’s lawyers have been unable to show “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial”.
He added that it was now “undisputed” that he had not been at the alleged parties in Hawaii, and that Egan had admitted previously to never travelling outside the mainland US.
A previous filing by his lawyers read: “The assertion of these antiquated claims was orchestrated to coincide with the worldwide release of a major motion picture directed by Defendant Bryan Singer, and accompanied by a parade of press conferences, interviews and other public preening by Plaintiff and his counsel to maximize public attention on the eve of the picture’s release.
“The timing of this action and inclusion of its detailed, sordid (and provably false) allegations are nothing more than tools being used to embarrass, harass, and pressure Singer and precipitate a shakedown of a perceived ‘deep pocket’.”
Egan is seeking more than $75,000 (£44,500) for each of the four charges, listed as battery, assault, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Singer, 48, is one of the most successful gay directors in Hollywood, and has directed three instalments in the lucrative X-Men franchise, beginning with the first X-Men film in 2000.
