CNN
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Actor Kevin Spacey will testify in the sexual misconduct trial against him, his attorney said in court Monday.
Lawyer Chase Scolnick made the statement outside the presence of the jury, which was not yet seated.
It is not clear when exactly Spacey will take the stand.
Earlier Monday, attorneys for actor Anthony Rapp finished presenting their case against Spacey.
Rapp, best known for his role in “Star Trek: Discovery,” claims that in 1986, Spacey, then 26, invited Rapp, then 14, to his Manhattan home where he picked Rapp up, laid him down on his bed, grabbed his buttocks and pressed his groin into Rapp’s body without his consent. He is suing Spacey for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Spacey’s attorneys have attempted to poke holes in Rapp’s claims by pointing to discrepancies, including dates Rapp alleged to have run into Spacey at industry events.
Before ending his time on the stand, Rapp’s attorney Peter Saghir asked the actor if he had been lying about his allegations against Spacey.
“I have not. It was something that happened to me that was not okay,” Rapp replied on the stand last week.
Before the jury entered the courtroom on Monday, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that the case can move forward in the face of the defense’s Rule 50 motion. Spacey’s other attorney, Jay Barron, argued that Rapp’s counsel has not proven their case and no reasonable jury would find the plaintiff liable for claims made in Rapp’s lawsuit.
Barron argued that the plaintiff’s legal team did not present evidence that Spacey’s alleged behavior was “extreme and outrageous,” or “offensive” under New York law to support their claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery. Kaplan said he would reserve judgment on the matters until later, and that on the dismissal of the battery claim, “I’m not going to grant that now, if ever.”
When a Rule 50 motion is filed and argued, according to CNN legal analyst Paul Callan, “most judges will defer ruling until after the jury renders a verdict so that on appeal, if the case is reversed, there is already a jury verdict in place to reinstate. Otherwise, if a judge dismisses before jury verdict and the judge’s ruling is granted on appeal, there would have to be a whole new trial.”
A video deposition from John Barrowman, who was allegedly with Rapp when Spacey met him, is currently being shown to the jury.
