Nick Carter’s defamation lawsuit against rape accuser to be allowed by judge

nme.com:

Nick Carter’s defamation lawsuit against a rape accuser is allowed to continue moving forwards, says a judge in a new ruling.The Nevada judge ruled on Tuesday (November 26) that the Backstreet Boys singer can proceed with his counterclaim against Shannon “Shay” Ruth, who filed a civil lawsuit in 2022, alleging that the singer raped her on a tour bus in 2001, when she was 17-year-old.Ruth claimed that Carter handed her a drink which she believes contained a mix of cranberry juice and alcohol, before attacking her on the bus.

She added that the alleged incident took place when he picked her out of a line of fans seeking an autograph after a concert.Carter has repeatedly denied all accusations, while his attorney branded them “legally meritless” and “entirely untrue”.

He went on to file a counter-suit against Ruth, accusing her of defamation.Now, according to documents obtained by People, Nevada Supreme Court judge Nancy L.

Allf has ruled that Ruth’s anti-SLAPP motion against Carter’s countersuit has been denied because she “failed to satisfy her burden”.“Our resolution of this appeal has been hindered by Ruth’s failure to identify with specificity any of the statements that form the basis of Ruth’s anti-SLAPP motion,” the filing read. “We therefore conclude that any statements on which Carter’s counterclaims is based that are not specifically addressed in this order do not warrant reversal of the district court’s order.”A similar ruling was made back in March 2023 too, when a judge confirmed that Carter could pursue a countersuit against Ruth.Alongside accusations made by Ruth, Carter was also accused of assaulting Melissa Schuman, former member of the band Dream, who originally filed a police report in 2017.