(Bloomberg) -- Leon Black’s lawsuit against a New York law firm that represented a woman who accused the billionaire of sexual assault was dismissed by an appeals court Thursday.
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The Apollo Global Management co-founder sued Wigdor LLP in New York state court in August 2023, accusing the firm of not properly investigating “false, life-ruining” allegations and attempting to harass Black. Wigdor represented Russian model Guzel Ganieva, who accused Black of sexually assaulting her.
A panel of appellate judges in Manhattan on Thursday threw out Black’s case against Wigdor, saying the law firm was exercising its constitutional rights to free speech when it brought the claims.
Black has said he had a consensual relationship with Ganieva but has denied abusing her. His lawyer, Susan Estrich, said in a statement that they “intend to appeal this decision and believe that Wigdor has and continues to engage in malicious prosecution.”
In response to the dismissal, Jeanne Christensen, a lawyer at the Wigdor firm, said that “being a billionaire buys access to our court system and lawyers who attempt to silence sexual assault survivors.”
Wigdor’s firm dropped Ganieva as a client in 2023 and the case was eventually dismissed. Apart from Ganieva, Wigdor has also sued Black on behalf of two other women for sexual assault. Black has denied ever meeting them. One of the women, Cheri Pierson, dropped her suit last year.
Black’s suit is one of a number of legal actions he has taken against Wigdor since 2021. In another lawsuit, he alleged Wigdor and others conspired with Ganieva to destroy his reputation. It was ultimately also thrown out by a federal judge in 2022.
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