A judge dismissed David Mueller‘s lawsuit against Taylor Swift on Friday, August 11, ruling that the DJ can’t prove that the singer got him fired from his job amid allegations that he groped her, Us Weekly confirms.
As previously reported, Mueller worked at country music station 98.5 KYGO when he attended Swift’s concert at Denver’s Pepsi Center in June 2013. After posing for a meet-and-greet photo with Swift, Mueller was confronted by the singer’s bodyguard, who claimed he had reached under her dress and grabbed her butt.
The DJ was subsequently escorted out of the arena, leading to his being fired. Following the alleged incident, he filed a lawsuit against Swift, seeking up to $3 million in damages, claiming he was falsely accused and that Swift should have contacted police rather than his bosses. Swift did not go to the police, despite Mueller’s request, because she wanted to keep the alleged incident “discreet and quiet and confidential,” her attorney Douglas Baldridge argued in court, the AP reports.
Judge William Martinez ruled on Friday that Swift could not be held liable because Mueller failed to prove that she personally set out to have him fired. His similar allegations against Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, and her radio liaison, Frank Bell, will go to jurors for a verdict, with closing statements set for Monday, August 14.
The Grammy winner’s case against Mueller for assault and battery is still going forward. A BuzzFeed reporter tweeted on Friday that the “Bad Blood” singer hugged her lawyer and her brother, Austin Swift, in the courtroom after the judge’s ruling.
Swift, who is countersuing the DJ for $1, took the stand on Thursday, August 10, to detail the incident. “It was a definite grab — a very long grab. He stayed latched on to my bare ass cheek as I moved away from him. I was visibly uncomfortable,” Swift, 27, said, per an Us Weekly reporter in the courtroom. “After this happened it was like a light switched off my personality.”
Mueller’s attorney noted that the singer could have taken a break following the alleged incident. “And your client could have taken a normal photo with me,” Swift replied. “I didn’t want to ruin the experience for fans in line.”
The DJ, however, claims that he did not touch her butt, but rather placed his hand higher on her body. “I felt what seemed to be a rib cage or ribs,” he said during a testimony on Thursday.
Swift’s former bodyguard, Greg Dent, took the stand on Friday, August 11. “His hand went under her skirt. I did not see his hand touch her physically. I saw his hand under her skirt,” Dent said during his testimony. “She reacted, pushed her skirt down and moved over. So in my opinion, I knew he touched her.”
Swift’s countersuit against the DJ will also go before a jury next week with closing arguments set to begin on Monday morning.
