Silke Jasso
A woman is suing former SNL Star Horatio Sanz for sexual assault and is now asking the Court’s permission to add creator Lorne Michaels, Tracy Morgan, and Jimmy Fallon as defendants saying that they enabled the misconduct.
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The woman, who is currently being identified as Jane Doe, alleged that Sanz “groomed her” when she was only a teenager. She also stated that he kissed her, groped her, and then attempted to digitally penetrate her in May 2002 at a party. At that time she was only seventeen.
She originally filed the lawsuit back in August of 2021 under state law, opening a two-year “look back window” which allows victims of child sex abuse to bring claims that could be barred by the statute of limitations. Recently, New York City amended its very own law in order to create a 2-year look-back window. This allows accusers to sue anyone who has enabled such conduct.
According to the complaint, Jane Doe and her teenage friends would regularly attend SNL after parties in 2000 and 2002. The suit alleges that the Late Night Show Host and Sanz heavily drank at the parties and that Jimmy Fallon once asked about her age. Doe responded she was a junior in high school. The lawsuit also revealed that Doe met with Michaels at one of the events. He went on to allegedly give her advice on pursuing a writing career.
Jane Doe Files Lawsuit Against Horatio Sanz
The complaint alleges that Morgan went out to rent a space for an after-after party back in May of 2002. That’s when Sanz groped her against her will. Sanz’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, denied all the accusations, saying the woman sought a payout of $7.5 million before officially filing the lawsuit last year.
As reported by Indie Wire, the original complaint was filed by attorney Jeffrey P. Fitz, which named NBC Universal and Sanz as defendants. Fitz also alleged that 18 NBCU employees should have known, or either knew of Sanz’s sexual misconduct and grooming. This includes Michaels, Morgan, Fallon, as well as other “SNL” cast members.
NBCUniversal had quickly filed a motion in order to dismiss all the complaints in April. They arged that the network wasn’t responsible for Sanz’s off-hours conduct. The network lawyers wrote, “Employers owe no general duty to protect third-persons from the possibility of sexual abuse by their employees.”
Quickly, Jane Doe hired a new lawyer, Susan Crumilller in June, who notified the court of her intent to amend the complaint, rendering the motion to dismiss moot. Crumiller is seeking a hearing on September 8th in order to obtain permission to file the amended version which adds Michaels, Morgan, and Fallon as defendants.
Despite the motion, an NBC spokesperson revealed that the network would once again seek to have the lawsuit thrown out. The spokesperson stated, “regardless of Jane changing narratives, BC intends to renew its motion to dismiss. “
