Mayor Adams’ lawyers slammed the woman accusing him in a lawsuit of sexual assault, questioning the credibility of Lorna Beach-Mathura’s explanation for why she missed a court-ordered deposition earlier this month and referencing past lawsuits she’d filed, a Tuesday filing in Manhattan Supreme Court says.
Beach-Mathura, in a previous filing, said she was unable to attend the deposition scheduled for Sept. 6 because she suffered an anxiety attack at the last minute that required her to seek medical attention.
“Plaintiff’s proffered excuses are neither credible nor legitimate reasons for flouting the Court’s Order while also failing to provide any advance notice or subsequent explanation,” wrote lawyer Alex Spiro in a court filing.
“The Court should not be fooled.”
Spiro questioned Beach-Mathura’s truthfulness, writing in that it “defies credulity” that she was not able to give her lawyers a heads up that she wouldn’t be able to make the deposition. He added that Beach-Mathura does not appear to have gotten any treatment for anxiety, instead visiting an urgent care hours after the deposition was set, where she was diagnosed with a sinus infection and prescribed cold medicine to treat it, records submitted by her lawyers last week show.
In her explanation for missing the deposition, Beach-Mathura’s attributed her health hiccup to “the great emotional distress and anxiety” caused by what she described as a concerted effort by the mayor’s allies and Spiro to portray her as a liar.
At an explosive court hearing in August, Beath-Mathura and Adams’ lawyers traded barbs, each saying the other side was withholding information. Spiro said they would not consider settling the civil lawsuit because the alleged sexual assault was “fictitious.”
“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. I became very concerned about my health. These symptoms greatly exacerbated my underlying anxiety and depression,” she wrote.
In the new filing, Adams’ lawyers also attached multiple exhibits from past lawsuits Beach-Mathura had filed, including a “slip-and-fall” suit against American Airlines in 2009, an assault and battery case from 2008 and a 2022 personal injury case against a casino.
Spiro, who is known for representing celebrities like Elon Musk, pushed for a dismissal of the case, or at least an evidentiary hearing.
The lawsuit, filed this past March, alleges Adams, who worked with Beach-Mathura in 1993 in the city Transit Police Department attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him after the two met to discuss a workplace issue. When she refused, he instead ejaculated on her leg, according to the $5 million suit.
Adams has vigorously denied the allegations.
