A judge has thrown out David Mueller’s case against Taylor Swift, according to the Associated Press, arguing that the radio DJ has no proof that her allegations of groping cost him his job.
The highly publicized trial had raged on for the past four days, with Mueller suing Swift for $3 million, and the megastar countersuing for a mere $1 — in order to prove a point about sexual assault.
The trial revolved around an incident during a 2013 meet-and-greet after a Denver concert, where Swift alleged that Mueller, then a DJ for local radio station KYGO, groped her buttocks while they were taking a photo together. Mueller denied the claim and hit Swift and her team with the lawsuit, maintaining that Swift’s accusation caused him to be terminated and ruined his career.
U.S. District Judge William Martinez ruled on Friday that because Swift did not appear to set out to get Mueller fired, she could not be held liable. The allegations that Mueller leveled against Swift’s mother and radio handler, Frank Bell, will go to the jury.
Over the course of the trial, which had been expected to last for nine days, an eight-person jury heard testimony from Mueller, Swift’s mother, and the singer herself, with Swift’s frank recounting of the events garnering attention and support from public figures like Lena Dunham and Gretchen Carlson. Questioned by Mueller’s attorney, Gabriel McFarland, Swift said on Thursday that the DJ’s actions were “very intentional.” “I am critical of your client for sticking his hand under my skirt and grabbing my ass,” she told him.
Mueller admitted in his testimony on Tuesday that he may have touched Swift’s “ribs,” but maintained that he did not touch her inappropriately. Swift’s mother, Andrea, took the stand the following day with an impassioned testimony, pointing directly at Mueller and telling the jury, “He sexually assaulted her — right there, that guy.”
In explaining why Swift asked only for $1, her attorney, J. Douglas Baldridge, said in court, “She’s just trying to tell people out there that you can say no when someone puts their hand on you. Grabbing a woman’s rear end is an assault, and it’s always wrong. Any woman — rich, poor, famous, or not — is entitled to have that not happen.”