Johnny Depp Catches Break in Concert Battery Lawsuit

Court tosses several claims in a complaint brought by an anonymous woman who contends actor's security team pulled her pants down at a L.A. concert this past December

By Josh Grossberg, Baker Machado Aug 10, 2012 6:20 PMTags
Johnny DeppJeff Steinberg/Tony Echevarria, PacificCoastNews.com

Johnny Depp is used to playing outlaws on the big screen, but in real life the law is on his side.

On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed many of the claims made against the heartthrob by an anonymous woman stemming from an alleged incident at an Iggy and the Stooges concert at the Hollywood Palladium back in December.

Chalk up a win for Depp.

The plaintiff, identified only as "Jane Doe," sued the actor and promoter Live Nation in April, accusing his entourage and bodyguards of roughing her up as she returned to her VIP seat in Depp's vicinity to the point where her clothes were "disheveled" and her shoes came off. On another occasion, she alleges the Lone Ranger star's security detail dragged her on the floor of the venue, causing her pants to fall off her torso and "exposing her buttocks" to other concertgoers.

Unfortunately for her, the judge didn't see it that way, ruling that since there are "no allegations concerning sexual activity or other sensitive or private conduct."

The plaintiff has 20 days to amend her battery complaint with her real name. The judge added that the woman, a medical professor at U.C. Irvine, can't shield her identity because "many of the underlying incidents are already open to public scrutiny because they occurred in a public place with many witnesses and she has made a complaint to the police."

The judge also struck down the woman's demand for punitive damages, noting her complaint "requires advance knowledge, authorization or ratification of an employee's conduct by an officer, director or managing agent."

An attorney for Depp was unavailable for comment.