Drew Dixon’s effort to add harassment and retaliation claims to her lawsuit against L.A. Reid was rejected.
Drew Dixon’s push to widen her sexual assault lawsuit against L.A. Reid with new allegations of workplace harassment and retaliation was shut down by a federal judge in New York, who said the changes came too late and would unfairly impact the record label boss.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeannette A. Vargas ruled against Dixon’s motion to amend her complaint, stating she had long been aware of the facts behind the proposed claims.
The judge pointed out that the case had already progressed through key stages, such as discovery and pretrial filings, and adding new claims now would disrupt the process.
“The new claims are not based upon facts learned after the pleading stage or through discovery,” Vargas wrote. “Rather, the basis for the proposed harassment and retaliation claims were known to Plaintiff from the outset of this case.”
Dixon filed the original lawsuit in 2023 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, a temporary law that allowed adult victims of sexual abuse to file civil claims that were previously time-barred.
She alleges that Reid sexually harassed her while she worked at Arista Records between 2000 and 2002 and sexually assaulted her twice in 2001, once during a private flight and again in a car.
Reid, who led Arista at the time, has denied all allegations.
Vargas said the new claims would introduce “elements and proof distinct from the four counts previously pleaded,” which include sexual battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of the New York City Gender-Motivated Violence Act.
Dixon argued that recent court rulings interpreting the Adult Survivors Act gave her a legal basis to include harassment and retaliation claims. But Vargas noted that those decisions were issued in 2023 and 2024, meaning Dixon had ample time to revise her complaint sooner.
The case is still moving forward with the original four claims, with trial set to begin on January 12, 2026.
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