Embattled Fashion Mogul Peter Nygard Accused of Sexual Abuse by Dozens of Additional Victims in Amended Complaint Filed by 46 Women
36 Additional Victims Join 10 Original Accusers in Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Nygard Forced Depraved Sex Acts Upon Them
NEW YORK – April 22, 2020 – Attorneys representing the victims of fashion mogul Peter Nygard’s sexual abuse and sex trafficking conspiracies today filed an amended class action complaint on behalf of 36 additional women who came forward following an initial lawsuit in February. The initial lawsuit, filed on behalf of 10 women, prompted scores of additional victims, witnesses, and insiders to come forward to corroborate and provide credible evidence of a decades-long sex trafficking conspiracy between Nygard, the Nygard corporate entities, and upper-level employees of the companies.
The dozens of new accusers span five decades, but all independently told similar stories of sexual abuse and violence, intimidation, and threats. The victims, who come from all over the world, allege that they were sexually abused by Nygard at locations in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom.
“After decades of rape and sexual abuse of children and innocent women, the facts are coming out and more and more people feel empowered to tell their truth,” said Greg Gutzler, co-counsel for the victims and a partner at DiCello Levitt Gutzler. “Nygard has put forth nonsensical conspiracy theories in an attempt to shirk his responsibility, but those are now obvious to all as nothing more than transparent deflection efforts to try to stop the truth from emerging and to, yet again, silence his victims. The truth is here, and more and more insiders are stepping forward to provide details about Nygard’s reign of terror.”
The amended complaint, filed by Gutzler, Amy Keller, Mark DiCello, Adam Levitt, and Justin Hawal of DiCello Levitt Gutzler, along with Lisa Haba of the Haba Law Firm, details how a series of Nygard corporate entities and their upper-level employees spent decades financing, facilitating, and covering-up the abuse. According to the amended complaint, Nygard lured many of his victims to offices and properties owned by his corporate entities in New York City, Los Angeles, Winnipeg, and Toronto with false promises of modeling and other career opportunities with the companies. The Nygard corporate entities are also named in the amended complaint.
While Nygard has previously, and on multiple occasions, been accused of rape and sexual misconduct in recent years, the amended complaint alleges that he managed to dodge accountability for over five decades by resorting to violence, intimidation, bribery, and payoffs in order to silence his victims and continue his depraved scheme. Nygard used his considerable influence in the fashion industry; the resources of his companies, his power through corruption of officials, including the police; and a network of company employees under his direction, to groom and lure his victims.
“Nygard was permitted and enabled to traffic, rape, and abuse others in plain sight for years,” Haba said. “That lack of accountability ends now, and governments can no longer turn a blind eye to human trafficking.”
The facts highlighted in the amended complaint come from hundreds of credible witnesses who have come forward since the filing of the initial complaint, including victims and former employees of Nygard and the Nygard corporate entities. The victims and witnesses tell strikingly similar stories that form a pattern and practice of sexual abuse dating to at least 1977, aided and abetted by the Nygard corporate entities.
The case is Jane Does Nos. 1-46 v. Peter J. Nygard, et.al. Case No. 1:20-cv-01288-ER in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A copy of the amended complaint is available here and attorneys for the plaintiffs are available for comment upon request.
About The Haba Law Firm, P.A.
The Haba Law Firm is an upscale boutique law firm in the heart of Orlando, Florida, that provides excellence in civil litigation, criminal law, real estate litigation and family law. Haba Law prides itselfon its aggressive and effective representation, honesty, and trauma-informed, victim centered advocacy. The unparalleled knowledge and experience with human trafficking and sexual abuse has resulted in Lisa Haba receiving numerous awards and recognitions for her work with survivors of human trafficking and sexual abuse.
About DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC
DiCello Levitt combines excellence in commercial litigation, class action litigation, mass tort litigation, catastrophic injury litigation, medical malpractice litigation, and civil rights litigation. Practicing nationwide—and internationally—from offices in Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and St. Louis, we are an aggressive, attentive, and creative plaintiffs’ firm whose work speaks for itself—billions of dollars in recoveries in some of the highest-profile matters in U.S. history. Revered by clients and respected by defense counsel, our team gets results.
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