Court allows maid's case against DSK to proceed
A hotel maid’s lawsuit claiming that former French presidential contender Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her can proceed to trial, a New York judge has ruled.
The maid says Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May last year. Strauss-Kahn has denied doing anything violent during the encounter.
Prosecutors dropped related criminal charges last year.
Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers said the civil lawsuit should also be dismissed. They argued he has diplomatic immunity because of his former post as head of the International Monetary Fund. He resigned shortly after his arrest.
The maid’s lawyers say the immunity argument relies on a United Nations agreement that the US did not sign.
Bronx state Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon ruled the civil case can go ahead.
