Scott Stringer, whose 2021 mayoral run was upended over sexual abuse allegations, got the go ahead Thursday to proceed with a defamation suit against his accuser, Jean Kim, in state court.
Stringer, who is weighing another mayoral run in 2025, got the legal green light came from the state court’s appellate division, where a panel of judges unanimously reversed a lower court’s decision to throw out Stringer’s lawsuit based on the claim that it exceeded the statute of limitations.
“We have maintained from the very beginning that these accusations against Mr. Stringer were lies. This ruling makes it clear that the court believes Mr. Stringer should have an opportunity to litigate his claims,” said Stringer’s attorney, Milt Williams. “We look forward to moving ahead with our case, and establishing in a court of law what we have been saying from the start: the defamatory accusations against Mr. Stringer are politically motivated falsehoods.”
Kim alleged during the mayor’s race that Stringer inappropriately touched her more than two decades ago. The accusations effectively kneecapped Stringer’s Democratic primary run, which ended with him coming in 5th place.
Stringer, who served as the city’s comptroller and Manhattan borough president prior to running for mayor, has repeatedly denied the allegations and filed a defamation suit against Kim in Dec. 2022. As part of that, Stringer’s legal team submitted several sworn statements in April 2023 contending Kim lied about circumstances surrounding their relationship.
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In one of them, Alisa Schierman, who worked on Stringer’s public advocate campaign in 2001, said she witnessed Kim and Stringer “making out … for an extended period” during a night out with campaign pals at an East Side watering hole.
Kim argued in court that Stringer’s suit should be thrown out because it was filed after the statute of limitations had passed. In August, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled in Kim’s favor, which led to Stringer’s appeal — and, eventually, the most recent appellate court decision in his favor.
Kim did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Daily News.
Stringer is now considering another run for mayor. In January, he launched an exploratory committee to test those waters, and since then, his team has been sending out email solicitations for donations on a regular basis. If he does run, he’s likely to face an incumbent in Mayor Adams who’s now dealing with a number of legal issues, including sexual abuse accusations.
Adams was accused in Manhattan Supreme Court last month of demanding a former cop colleague give him oral sex years ago in exchange for career help. According to Adams’ accuser, Lorna Beach-Mathura, the alleged incident took place more than three decades ago when Adams served as a police officer. The mayor has denied the allegations and said he did “not recall” ever meeting Beach-Mathura.
The appellate court’s ruling Thursday on Stringer’s defamation suit case was unanimous, which means Kim is precluded from appealing the decision and that Stringer’s legal team can pursue the discovery process in court.
