Garth Brooks’ Accuser Fighting Singer’s Latest Legal Request

The woman who has accused Garth Brooks of sexual assault is not leaving California without a fight.

Jane Roe wants to keep the case in California after Brooks asked a court to dismiss and have her re-file Mississippi. Her team also described settlement discussions had between the parties between July and September 13 as cordial.

• On Sept. 13, Brooks filed a preemptive lawsuit using “John Doe” and “Jane Doe.” He was trying to proceed with any subsequent lawsuits involving the two parties under pseudonyms.
• A lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault was filed in California on Oct. 3, using “Jane Roe” as plaintiff and the star’s real name, Garth Brooks, as defendant. The Mississippi claim had not yet been decided at that time.
• On Oct. 8, Brooks filed an amendment using his real name and hers, asking for a judge to dismiss his original filing.

Related: Garth Brooks Sexual Assault Allegations Timeline

Rolling Stone has obtained the newest court filings and report that Jane Roe’s lawyers asked a federal judge to reject Brooks’ request to dismiss. 

Brooks’ lawyers made that request in early November, just after they successfully got the case moved from civil court (where Roe filed) to federal court. They argued it’s more efficient to have both cases (her sexual assault lawsuit and his preemptive filing) in the same court.

Jane Roe lives in Mississippi, but the alleged actions took place in California.

Roe’s lawyers accuse Brooks of forum shopping. Additionally, they say he chose Mississippi in part because there are no anti-SLAPP laws like there are in California (and, according the TBA, Tennessee, where Brooks lives).

SLAPP lawsuits are lawsuits that are intended to intimidate someone away from saying something critical in a court filing. Without anit-SLAPP laws, someone could face an expensive lawsuit just by filing charges.

“Brooks raced to the courthouse to file first in Mississippi,” Rolling Stone reports that Roe’s newest filing says.

“The primary relevant events took place in Los Angeles, California. Not a single act or event underlying any alleged cause of action by Brooks occurred in Mississippi.”

The events Roe describes in her filing allege that during a trip to Los Angeles in May 2019, Brooks raped her in a hotel room. Then, in October of that year, he allegedly groped her while grabbing his crotch and propositioning her for sex. The lengthy document describes a pattern of verbal and sexual abuse, all of which the singer denies.

Roe worked as Brooks’ hair and makeup artist starting in 2017, but worked for his wife, Trisha Yearwood, for years prior.

A hearing to address Brooks’ request to dismiss the California case is set for Dec. 16.