Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

All Defendants Except Finlay Are Dismissed from Alexandra Waterbury's Lawsuit


abatt

Recommended Posts

Just to clarify the decision, these were summary judgment motions.  As explained at pp. 5-6 of the Court's decison, in that type of motion the court assumes that the allegations contained in the plaintiff's complaint are true. As stated in the opinion, "the plaintiff is accorded the benefit of every possible favorable inference, and the court determines only whether the facts as alleged fit within any cognizable legal theory.”  I don't think there was much, or any, discovery, in this case.  The Court did accept all of Waterbury's allegations as ttue, but even so determined that she had no cognizable legal claim against anyone other than Finlay.

No sanctions or penalties were imposed against Waterbury or her counsel  in this case.  However, none of the parties specifically requested  such relief or submitted legal arguments on this issue. 

 

 

Edited by abatt
Link to comment
1 hour ago, canbelto said:

I would add that all this sympathy for the defendants is exhibit A of white privilege. Somehow white males are always the victims.

One could say that the attention paid to this case is exhibit A+ of white female privilege.  Similar to Missing White Woman syndrome,  Waterbury is the perfect subject from the point of view of the media,  where disproportionate attention is paid to the travails of young,  white,  blonde upper middle-class females.  Throw in the glamor of the ballet connection and the story is irresistible.  The vilification of Amar Ramasar is the icing on the cake.  While he is technically not African American,  he's dark enough to fill the role of the big,  hypermasculine black male threat to white womanhood that runs in the background of American culture like a stealth malware program on a computer.  

Edited by On Pointe
Clarity
Link to comment
14 hours ago, Helene said:

Not according to the US Department of Health & Human Services, which defines sexual assault broadly to include any non-consensual sexual activity and this does not require physical contact or revenge as a motive.

https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/sexual-assault-and-rape/sexual-assault

But I'm confused. If they had consensual sex, that could be considered assault due to the unknown, to her, recording...?

Link to comment
4 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

So sexual assault is then equal to sexual abuse. Waterbury was assaulted because she was unknowingly filmed. Even if the sex was consensual. This is how it works...?

She didn't consent to being filmed or having her film distributed. The rape apology on this board is sickening.

And @On Pointe, Amar Ramasar is white. He's Indian and that's considered Caucasian.

Edited by canbelto
Link to comment

So is everyone in south India, where

20 hours ago, canbelto said:

He's Indian and that's considered Caucasian.

So is everyone in south India.  That doesn't stop shade discrimination, as vividly displayed in ubiquitous skin whitener ads on TV, or in marriage ads in the India Times, where the stated preference is for light skin.  (I obviously can't read the press in Hindi, Tegalu, or any of the many local languages, so I can't speak to what they are saying.)

Being Caucasian or part Caucasian (in the US) doesn't help anyone who is perceived as not white.

I don't think Ramasar is being vilified any more than the other men because of the color of his skin: I think he's getting more attention because he is the most visible of all of them, aside from Longhitano's recent 15-more-minutes-of-fame stint as a protector of white real estate privilege.  If he had decamped to a European ballet company instead of Catazaro, and Catazaro was cast as Tony or the Russ Tamblyn character, I think Waterbury would be picketing West Side Story because of Catazaro, and no would be paying much attention to Ramasar.

Finlay has taken a more traditional white male privilege path and disappeared from sight.  I have no doubt he will be resurrected, although not as a dancer.  Even Bert Stern was resurrected after bankrupting his family and snorting Allegra Kent's earnings.

Edited by Helene
missing word
Link to comment

The fact that Chase Finlay got to disappear to wherever with no consequences is the definition of white privilege. He should be in jail. But nothing's going to happen to him. He's just going to be another white male predator society protects.

Edited by canbelto
Link to comment
1 hour ago, Helene said:

 

So is everyone in south India.  That doesn't stop shade discrimination, as vividly displayed in ubiquitous skin whitener ads on, or in marriage ads in the India Times, where the stated preference is for light skin.  (I obviously can't read the press in Hindi, Tegalu, or any of the many local languages, so I can't speak to what they are saying.)

Being Caucasian or part Caucasian (in the US) doesn't help anyone who is perceived as not white.

I don't think Ramasar is being vilified any more than the other men because of the color of his skin: I think he's getting more attention because he is the most visible of all of them, aside from Longhitano's recent 15-more-minutes-of-fame stint as a protector of white real estate privilege.  If he had decamped to a European ballet company instead of Catazaro, and Catazaro was cast as Tony or the Russ Tamblyn character, I think Waterbury would be picketing West Side Story because of Catazaro, and no would be paying much attention to Ramasar.

The. Indian Matchmaker series on Netflix reveals a fascinating look at the role of colorism in Indian society.  A number of western companies,  like Unilever and L'Oreal,  market skin lightening products in India with commercials that are very frank about the advantage of having lighter skin.

I've seen a number of articles about the Waterbury case that have had a photo of Ramasar but none of Finlay or Catazaro.  The media know what they are doing.

1 hour ago, canbelto said:

The fact that Chase Finlay got to disappear to wherever with no consequences is the definition of white privilege. He should be in jail. But nothing's going to happen to him. He's just going to be another white male predator society protects.

More than likely Finlay and Waterbury will come to some kind of financial settlement.  But even in today's climate,  he shouldn't be in jail unless and until he's been convicted of a crime.  It's been established that showing revealing photos of your girlfriend to a few friends,  while reprehensible,  is not revenge porn.  Finlay never uploaded the photos to the internet or "published" them in any manner. 

Link to comment

I've seen those commercials on Indian TV in multiple languages.  They are frightening, but yes as frank as the marriage ads.

The way Findlay shared photos doesn't meet the definition of revenge porn, because there's nothing to show intent.  The question is whether there is a statute that criminalizes taking the photos in the first place without Waterbury's consent.  

Link to comment
11 minutes ago, Helene said:

I've seen those commercials on Indian TV in multiple languages.  They are frightening.

I was astonished at how much of the stuff was sold at duty-free shops at the airport in Dubai. 

For what it's worth, Johnson and Johnson has left the skin-lightener market, and L'Oreal and Unilever no longer market them as "lightening" or "whitening." The market is worth more than $8 billion, so few companies will abandon it outright. 

People with pale skin also use the creams to reverse the appearance of sun damage. But I suspect they're not the primary market.

Link to comment
6 hours ago, canbelto said:

I would add that all this sympathy for the defendants is exhibit A of white privilege. Somehow white males are always the victims.

Actually women saying ‘believe all women’ is literally asking for the privilege of being held to a different standard as a sex, while not allowing men to have due process. 
 

All the parties in this case except for Finlay were Waterbury’s/her lawyers victims for a PR campaign. Let’s not forget Catazaro, Ramasar, Loghitano and SAB weren’t even added to the lawsuit until after the initial suit against Finlay/NYCB was filed. 

Link to comment
6 minutes ago, Fairandlove said:

Actually women saying ‘believe all women’ is literally asking for the privilege of being held to a different standard as a sex, while not allowing men to have due process. 
 

All the parties in this case except for Finlay were Waterbury’s/her lawyers victims for a PR campaign. Let’s not forget Catazaro, Ramasar, Loghitano and SAB weren’t even added to the lawsuit until after the initial suit against Finlay/NYCB was filed. 

"Believe all women" because over time, accusations of sexual assault and rape committed by men have proven OVERWHELMINGLY to be true.

Larry Nassar - the first complaints about him were made in the 1990's. It took over 20 years to put this guy in jail.

Harvey Weinstein - see above

Due process only applies to white men in society. It does not apply to POC who are often jailed for trivial, non-violent crimes while violent white murders and rapists are given the benefit of the doubt. It does not apply to women who are shamed, disbelieved, dismissed, and harassed for speaking the truth. 

Due process is overrated. The only way rape and sexual assault will stop is if we BURN THE WHOLE PLACE DOWN. Make men suffer collectively for the way women have been victimized over the years.

And in case you guys haven't guessed, yes this is personal. Private photos of mine were distributed without my permission on myspace years ago. Complaints to the company did not work and I was too embarrassed to do anything else. It is sickening the amount of sympathy these men get while Alexandra Waterbury is branded with the scarlet A.

Edited by canbelto
Link to comment

While I don't subscribe to "believe all women," or Emmett Till might be heading towards his 80th birthday, I do believe that, historically speaking, the standard has been different all along in favor of men, at least white men, and that it's hardly a level playing field.

Link to comment
Just now, canbelto said:

And in case you guys haven't guessed, yes this is personal. Private photos of mine were distributed without my permission on myspace years ago. Complaints to the company did not work and I was too embarrassed to do anything else. It is sickening the amount of sympathy these men get while Alexandra Waterbury is branded with the scarlet A.

Her photos were never shared on a website like MySpace so that comparison is not even justified. 
 How would you justify Catazaro being added to the lawsuit who never even saw her photos? It was all pure PR and for shock value.

 Waterbury claimed so many women were affected and yet Ramasar’s girlfriend had to put out a public statement telling Waterbury to stop speaking on her behalf and that what she was saying did not match her own feelings.

Link to comment
15 hours ago, Fairandlove said:

Her photos were never shared on a website like MySpace so that comparison is not even justified. 
 How would you justify Catazaro being added to the lawsuit who never even saw her photos? It was all pure PR and for shock value.

 Waterbury claimed so many women were affected and yet Ramasar’s girlfriend had to put out a public statement telling Waterbury to stop speaking on her behalf and that what she was saying did not match her own feelings.

He was in the group chat. So he was part of it. His fault. 

And just because Alexa Maxwell forgave doesn't mean Alexandra Waterbury has to forgive. Another soapbox: how come these ideas of mercy and forgiveness are only applied to women being asked to forgive men? If Alexandra Waterbury wants to do everything in her power to destroy Chase Finlay that's her right. She's earned it for the gross violation of privacy and suffering. 

 

Link to comment
15 hours ago, canbelto said:

He was in the group chat. So he was part of it. His fault. 

Luckily the judge determined that she had no grounds to sue him and threw it out.
 Catazaro wasn’t even being sued for anything message/image related. He was only being sued for negligence, but he had no duty towards her, which he didn’t. 
 Catazaro and Ramasar have ample grounds to countersue Waterbury for defamation based on her public comments about them.

Link to comment
2 minutes ago, Fairandlove said:

That’s certainly a bizarre way to look at it. Luckily the judge determined that she had no grounds to sue him and threw it out.
 Catazaro wasn’t even being sued for anything message/image related. He was only being sued for negligence, but he had no duty towards her, which he didn’t. 
 Catazaro and Ramasar have ample grounds to countersue Waterbury for defamation based on her public comments about them.

You can't sue someone for defamation if the accusations are true. She didn't say anything about them that wasn't true. Maybe their conduct didn't meet the bar for being sued in civil court but what she said about them was still true.

Link to comment
Just now, canbelto said:

You can't sue someone for defamation if the accusations are true. She didn't say anything about them that wasn't true. Maybe their conduct didn't meet the bar for being sued in civil court but what she said about them was still true.

She said on her Instagram story ‘these men are pedophiles’ 

During her speech at UC Berkley she said that Catazaro had sent and received her images.

She led a protest against Ramasar holding signs saying he was a ‘sexual predator’ as well as a sigh saying ‘still not your farm animal’ even though Ramasar never said such a thing. 

She even failed to correct multiple inconsistencies in her public story on several occasions including when outlets referred to her as a New York City Ballet ballerina - which she was never. Her own lawyer even had to correct this on his own website. 

Link to comment

Larry Nasser was abusing women during the course of and in the scope of  his employment as a doctor employed by US Gymnastics.  He was the agent of that organization, and his job on behalf of US Gymnastics  was to provide medical care to the women on the team.  US Gymnastics gave him authority to act on its behalf, and  gave him the imprimatur of authority with respect to the ladies on the team.  That's why his misconduct resulted in the resignation of so many other people who were supervisors and administrators for US Gymnastics. They were negligent in giving Nasser power over team members. 

In contrast, when Chase Finlay goes on a date and acts like a pig, that activity is  part of his private life, and it is not part of the scope and course of his employment at NYCB.   He is not acting on behalf of NYCB in his  personal relationships. 

Edited by abatt
Link to comment
3 minutes ago, abatt said:

In contrast, when Chase Finlay goes on a date and acts like a pig, that activity is  part of his private life, and it is not part of the scope and course of his employment at NYCB.   He is not acting on behalf of NYCB in his  personal relationships. 

Photographing your gf having sex without her knowledge and disseminating that footage is a bit more than "going on a date and acting like a pig."

Link to comment
16 hours ago, canbelto said:

Make men suffer collectively for the way women have been victimized over the years.

I have serious issues with our legal systems, both criminal and civil, and how, both functionally and by statute it maintains the status quo institutionally, but I am glad that there's some wall to push back against outright vengeance.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...