A lawsuit brought forward against several former members of politically active punk rock band Anti-Flag has been dismissed. The legal trouble against the group first began to emerge in the summer of 2023, when an anonymous allegation of sexual assault was made against the group’s vocalist/guitarist Justin Geever (Justin Sane).
Kristina Sarhadi would later publicly come forward with her allegation against Geever, claiming he sexually assaulted her in a hotel room back in 2010. With the standard statute of limitations on sexual assault claims temporarily lifted in New York as part of last year’s Adult Survivors Act, Sarhadi filed suit against Geever.
In light of Sarhadi‘s initial allegation, Anti-Flag promptly broke up, with the rest of the band, sans Geever, claiming to have been ‘shaken to their core’ by the allegations. Geever for his part publicly denied the allegations.
In light of Sarhadi coming forward, roughly a dozen other women came forward with disturbing allegations of their own against Geever. With Geever often publicly aligning himself with feminist causes and counter-culture messaging, his alleged behavior was viewed publicly as being particularly sinister.
Sarhadi‘s suit didn’t just target Geever however, as Anti-Flag‘s business Hardwork Distribution Inc. was also named in the suit. Sarhadi claimed that the company were liable for negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, thus seeing the rest of the group brought into suit.
Sarhadi claimed that Geever had served as the President and owner of that company overall, which is understood to have represented the band’s various interests. In her complaint, Sarhadi alleged that the band and Hardwork Distribution Inc. had “policies and procedures in place to limit Geever‘s ability to interact with women and girls.”
She went on to claim that such policies were in place because the company and band knew of Geever‘s “propensity to commit sexual assault of otherwise engage in inappropriate and harassing behavior with women.”
Sarhadi further alleged that the group and various members of the band’s business interests/inner circle attempted to conceal or downplay Geever‘s alleged behavior. Citing communication with alleged victims of Geever and press reports, she estimated that Geever‘s victims totaled at least sixty women who had sexual relations with him while either or underage or without giving him consent.
Sarhadi‘s complaint, which was later amended, also included allegations of other individuals who claimed to have confronted members band over the years regarding some of the aforementioned incidents Geever was alleged to have been involved in.
Ultimately the court have seen fit to grant Hardwork Distribution Inc. their motion to dismiss this claim brought against them after finding insufficient evidence for it to meet the legal bar necessary to proceed.
A December 18th, 2024 ruling cited issues with a lack of provable ties of Hardwork Distribution Inc. resources, etc. being involved in Sarhadi‘s alleged sexual assault at the hands of Geever, among other legal concerns.
Geever for his part has not responded to claims brought forward against him in the lawsuit and is alleged to have left the United States last spring. As such, Sarhadi has been reminded by the court to file a motion for a default judgement against Geever regarding her claims of assault, battery/sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress against him.
A full copy of this initial ruling in the case can be found via courthousenews.com
[via Fake Your Death]
