Lorna Beach-Mathura, who has accused Mayor Adams in a civil lawsuit of sexually assaulting her, must be deposed by Oct. 16 — or her case will be dismissed, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Latin ruled Thursday.
After Beach-Mathura missed a court-ordered deposition on Sept. 6, lawyers for Adams asked the judge that the case be dismissed.
“We look forward to all of the depositions in this matter,” Megan Goddard, Beach-Mathura’s attorney, said in a statement.
Beach-Mathura explained in court papers that she experienced an anxiety attack requiring her to seek medical attention, at the last minute on the day of the deposition, she wrote in a court filing last week that laid the blame for her breakdown on Adams’ team.
In response, Adams’ lawyer Alex Spiro cast doubt on her credibility, pointing out past lawsuits she had filed and questioning her actions the day of the scheduled deposition.
“The court should not be fooled,” Spiro wrote in a court filing Wednesday.
The decision comes on the same day Adams was indicted on criminal charges of receiving illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals.
Spiro wrote that it seemed unlikely Beach-Mathura was not able to give her lawyers advance warning that she couldn’t make the deposition, and said that she did not appear to have gotten any treatment for anxiety, instead visiting an urgent care center hours after the deposition was set, where she was diagnosed with a sinus infection.
“The day of my scheduled deposition, I woke up in an extreme state of duress, unable to breathe and hear properly with a hoarse voice, and throat pain,” Beath-Mathura previously wrote in explanation for the missed deposition. “I became very concerned about my health. These symptoms greatly exacerbated my underlying anxiety and depression.”
The $5 million lawsuit stems from an alleged 1993 incident when Beath-Mathura met Adams, a transit cop at the time, to discuss Adams helping her get a promotion in the Transit Police Department. Adams picked her up in his car. Once in the car, the suit alleges, he attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him. She refused, and he instead ejaculated on her leg, according to the complaint.
Adams has denied the allegations.
The notice of claim for the suit was filed last November under the Adult Survivors Act, a state law that gave sexual abuse survivors a one-year window to sue their perpetrators even if the statute of limitations had expired.
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