Groping lawsuit against Kevin Spacey dropped, but actor still faces criminal charge

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Actor Kevin Spacey arrives at district court on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019, in Nantucket, Mass., to be arraigned on a charge of indecent assault and battery.

Steven Senne | AP

A young man who said actor Kevin Spacey groped him in a Nantucket, Massachusetts, bar in 2016 has dismissed his civil lawsuit against the Academy Award winner.

But Spacey still faces a criminal case related to the man’s allegation. The “House of Cards” star pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and battery in January.

Prosecutors had no immediate comment Friday when contacted by CNBC.

The civil lawsuit by the man against Spacey was filed on June 26 in Nantucket Superior Court. The suit sought unspecified damages for “severe and permanent mental distress and emotional injuries.”

Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer for the accuser, said in an email that the suit, had been voluntarily dismissed Friday.

The suit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Garabedian’s client cannot refile the case later. The suit also was dismissed without costs to any party.

Garabedian declined to comment further on the dismissal, citing the pending criminal case.

A hearing in that criminal case is scheduled for Monday.

The judge in the case has ordered Garabedian and the accuser’s father to appear in court Monday, and the father will be required to testify about his son’s missing cellphone, which Spacey’s lawyer has said contains text messages that would prove the actor’s innocence.

Garabedian has said the family is unable to locate the phone.

A representative for Spacey did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Spacey’s lawyers previously have said the accuser and his family “have a significant financial motive to fabricate the instant allegations” given Spacey’s “status as a public figure.”

Garabedian’s client is the son of Heather Unruh, a Boston TV anchor.

According to Unruh, Spacey allegedly got him drunk and sexually assaulted him at the Club Car restaurant where he worked. He was 18 years old at the time of the reported incident.

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