Washington, DC — A defamation lawsuit for former TRG CEO Zia Chishti against Tatiana Spottiswoode, a former employee of an associated company, has been dealt a significant blow as it failed in the Washington DC District Court.
Chishti had earlier demanded $500 million in damages as he had filed the lawsuit against Spottiswoode and her legal representatives. This case came after an arbitration awarding over $5 million to Spottiswoode after she was found liable for sexual harassment, assault, and battery against Chishti.
The court decision, issued by Senior Judge Amy Berman Jackson, dismissed all of Chishti’s claims, summarizing the defamation complaint as “a not-so-thinly veiled attempt to undo the outcome of an arbitration that ruled in Spottiswoode’s favor.” The judge added, “Statements made by Spottiswoode under her testimony to the US Congress are, in fact, protected under the authority of absolute legislative immunity.”.
Chishti’s legal issues gained incredible momentum when Spottiswoode testified before Congress which led to a landmark bipartisan bill abolishing forced arbitration in employment cases dealing with sexual harassment and assault. President Biden signed that legislation into law in 2022.
Despite these setbacks, Chishti filed another round of legal cases against Spottiswoode and her lawyers in late 2022 to attempt to have the arbitration’s ruling overturned. The Court’s final order repeated the baselessness of his claims of defamation but did criticize the circuitous and inappropriate approach followed by Chishti’s lawyers.
The case dismissal will mark the latest in a line of landmark judicial decisions concerning defamation cases in which Zia Chishti has been involved after being embroiled in numerous defamation cases both in the United States and Pakistan.
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