A former teenage actor and model who accused several entertainment industry figures of sexual abuse withdrew a second federal lawsuit Wednesday, this time against network TV executive Garth Ancier.
Attorneys for Michael Egan III filed papers to dismiss the suit against Ancier, a former president of programming at the WB Television Network and NBC Entertainment.
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The attorneys did not explain why the case was dropped, and they did not respond to a request for comment from NBC news.
Egan sued Ancier as well as "X-Men" director Bryan Singer, producer Gary Goddard and TV executive David Neuman of sexually abusing him during trips to Hawaii in 1999.
Three weeks ago, Egan also dropped the suit against Neuman, who had worked for Disney and CNN as a TV executive.
“We are pleased the case filed in Hawaii against Mr. Ancier has been dropped given it had no merit whatsoever. Mr. Ancier was undeserving of the stain to his reputation caused by the plaintiff’s reckless complaint, which was grounded in lies,” Ancier’s attorney, Louise Ann Fernandez, said in a statement to NBC News.
“We are equally confident that just as this case imploded when the facts became known, any further legal maneuvers or gimmicks will fail because unsupported statements, falsehoods and character smears have no place in any court,” the statement continued.
Suits remain pending against Goddard and Singer. Both have denied the allegations.
In filing for a dismissal last month, Ancier’s attorneys accused Egan’s lawyer, Jeffrey Herman, of pursuing the attention-grabbing case as part of a campaign to “shake down Hollywood executives.”
— Phil Helsel and The Associated Press
