Overview
- U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice on Jan. 12 after a joint stipulation, preventing the claims from being refiled.
- The parties reached a confidential settlement hours before jury selection and opening statements were to begin in Manhattan federal court.
- Drew Dixon’s 2023 suit alleged two 2001 assaults—on a private flight and later in a car—and claimed subsequent professional retaliation at Arista Records.
- Imran H. Ansari, counsel for L.A. Reid, said the matter was resolved without any admission of liability, and Reid continues to deny the allegations.
- The averted trial had been expected to include testimony from high-profile witnesses such as John Legend, and the case proceeded under New York’s Adult Survivors Act.