Kevin’s Victory: Sex Tape Partner’s Lawsuit Dismissed In Extortion Scandal
Nov. 18 2019, Updated 9:29 a.m. ET
The woman at the center of Kevin Hart’s sex tape extortion scandal sued him for emotional distress, invasion of privacy and more. But the actor seems to be off the hook – at least for now. RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal a California judge dismissed the lawsuit against the comedian.
In court papers obtained from California District Court’s Central Division, a judge dismissed the complaint for “lack of subject matter jurisdiction” and for “lack of diversity jurisdiction.”
As RadarOnline.com reported, Sabbag is suing Hart, his former friend Jonathan Todd Jackson, who was arrested and charged with extortion, and Fameolous, the site who published the sex tape.
“Because the Complaint alleges the citizenship of Defendant Fameolous, Ent LLC as if it were a corporation, rather than a limited liability company, the Complaint has not properly alleged the citizenship of that party,” the court papers read. “As a result, Plaintiff’s allegations are not sufficient to invoke this Court’s diversity jurisdiction.”
Fortunately for Sabbag, she has until September 30, 2019 to file a First Amended Complaint with Federal Court to show that the lawsuit meets the requirements for subject matter or diversity jurisdiction.
“The failure to file a First Amended Complaint by that date or to adequately allege the Court’s jurisdiction may, without further warning, result in the dismissal of this action without prejudice,” the court papers read.
Sabbag sued Hart, 40, for alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and invasion of privacy on September 16, 2019. She is asking for $60 million.
In the complaint, she claimed Hart “negligently or intentionally authorized, allowed and otherwise permitted Jackson access to Hart’s hotel room suite at Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and breached their duty of care to M Sabbag.”
She continued that Jackson caused her to be “secretly videotaped without her knowledge or consent, while she was engaged in private, consensual sexual relationships with Hart in Hart’s private bedroom suite at the Cosmopolitan.”
Defendants posted the two-minute and forty-eight second “highlight reel” to obtain “tremendous financial benefit.” She said the incident was to “promote Hart’s Irresponsible tour.”
“As a natural and foreseeable consequence of the Defendants’ actions, Ms. Sabbag has suffered, and continues to suffer, tremendous emotional distress,” the court papers read.
She claimed her life was “turned upside down” and she “continues to suffer from substantial emotional distress on a daily basis as a result.”
In 2017, Hart claimed in an Instagram video that someone was trying to extort him over the sex tape. His ex-friend Jackson denied the extortion claims despite the charges against him.
He also apologized to his wife Eniko Parrish, who was pregnant at the time of the cheating scandal.
“I’m guilty of infidelity, regardless of how it happened and what was involved, the s**t that I can’t talk about, I’m guilty. I’m wrong,” he said. “It’s beyond irresponsible. There’s no way around it. That’s Kevin Hart in his dumbest moment. That’s not the finest hour of my life. With that being said, you make your bed you lay in it.”