Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn filed a counterclaim in the lawsuit brought by a Manhattan hotel maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her.
Strauss-Kahn alleged in the court filing in New York state Supreme Court in the Bronx that the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, knowingly made a “malicious and wanton” false accusation, according to copies of the filing provided by his lawyers. The documents couldn’t be immediately confirmed with the court.
“She is directly responsible for his being arrested, imprisoned and subjected to extraordinary pain, anguish and expense,” William Taylor III, one of Strauss-Kahn’s attorneys, said in a statement. “Her conduct is not without consequence for her and he is not required to simply endure what she did and her effort to profit for herself without fighting back.”
Strauss-Kahn is seeking damages of at least $1 million for claims of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, false imprisonment, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The counterclaim was filed on the first anniversary of his arrest on attempted rape charges and is another example of Strauss-Kahn’s “misogynistic attitude,” Douglas H. Wigdor, a lawyer for Diallo, said in a statement.
“As with his plea for diplomatic immunity, we are entirely confident this latest desperate ploy will be swiftly rejected,” Wigdor said.
Pulled Off Plane
Strauss-Kahn, 63, was pulled off an Air France flight at John F. Kennedy International Airport last May 14, arrested and charged with trying to rape Diallo, a housekeeper at the Sofitel in midtown Manhattan. He resigned as head of the IMF four days later.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. dropped the criminal charges against Strauss-Kahn after concluding that Diallo had lied about events surrounding the alleged attack. The criminal case was dismissed on Aug. 23.
Diallo sued Strauss-Kahn the same month, seeking damages for what her lawyer called “violent and deplorable acts.” Unlike a criminal trial, a civil suit doesn’t require proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
A judge in the Bronx earlier this month denied a defense motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that Strauss-Kahn enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
The case is Diallo v. Strauss-Kahn, 11-307065, New York State Supreme Court (Bronx County).
--Editors: David E. Rovella, Glenn Holdcraft
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in New York at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net
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