Cornell fraternity defendant seeks dismissal, calling Jane Doe's claims against him 'a lawsuit about a forced kiss'

A Cornell University fraternity member named in a civil gang-rape lawsuit has asked a New York judge to throw out every claim against him, contending that the only specific act attributed to him — an unwanted kiss — falls outside the lawsuit's extended statute of limitations and does not legally support the sweeping accusations of rape and sexual assault leveled at all seven defendants collectively.

Diego Sarabia filed the dismissal motion on Friday in New York state court, where the case brought by the former Cornell student known as Jane Doe has been pending since she filed it on September 16. Sarabia was one of seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity she sued for allegedly participating in a gang rape at the fraternity house between the nights of October 19 and 20, 2024.

As far as defendant goes, this is essentially a lawsuit about an allegedly forced kiss.— James C. Knox, attorney for Diego Sarabia

Doe's lawsuit alleged that Sarabia grabbed her face and kissed her without her consent before she pushed him away, and that he was among the fraternity brothers who snorted ketamine off her body. According to the filing, Knox contended that nowhere in the complaint is Sarabia accused of providing Doe with drugs or alcohol, taking part in any of the sexual encounters described elsewhere in the suit, or even being present for the majority of the conduct at the heart of the broader allegations.

Throughout a sprawling complaint approaching 600 paragraphs, plaintiff repeatedly, collectively and without differentiation accuses seven student defendants of 'sexual assault and rape.' Those legally conclusory statements do not substitute for pleaded facts.— James C. Knox, attorney for Diego Sarabia

The filing contends that claims of assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress tied to the alleged kiss are time-barred under a strict one-year statute of limitations, and that what Sarabia is accused of doing does not meet the threshold for the longer limitations period Doe invoked for certain sexual offenses. According to ABC News, Knox wrote that Doe commenced the action nearly two years after the alleged events, making any intentional tort claim against his client time-barred.

Thomas Giuffra, the attorney representing Doe, had no comment. No response to the motion has yet been filed, according to ABC News.

On the same day Sarabia filed his motion, New York Supreme Court Justice Phaedra Perry-Bond issued a separate ruling allowing Doe to continue using a pseudonym throughout the civil proceedings. In support of that decision, Perry-Bond pointed to the high-profile nature of the allegations and what she described as "widespread reports of certain malicious actors' behavior in attempting to threaten and retaliate against anyone tangentially involved in this case." The anonymity request drew no opposition from any of the defendants. The judge also warned that cyberstalking, harassment, or threats against Doe, the defendants, or their attorneys could constitute a federal crime and lead to prosecution.

Perry-Bond also said that similar privacy protections — shielding home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses — should be extended to the individually named defendants, and invited the parties to propose a formal agreement to that effect.

The anonymity ruling arrived a week after Perry-Bond turned down a bid by Sarabia's attorney to place a gag order on the case. According to ABC News, the judge described that request as a "side show" that was "meant to muddy the waters and distract from the merits of the claims and defenses involved in this case."

The civil lawsuit is one of several overlapping legal proceedings stemming from the October 2024 incident. Cornell's internal Title IX investigation, which ran from January to May 2025, resulted in the expulsion of two students, the permanent closure of the Chi Phi chapter, and lesser sanctions — including suspensions, disciplinary probation, and reflection papers — for others. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten initially declined to bring criminal charges in November 2024, citing a six-page summary of Doe's police interview in which some sexual conduct was described as consensual. He later reopened the investigation after allegations in the lawsuit differed from that earlier statement. Van Houten was subsequently removed from the case by Governor Kathy Hochul, who named state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. James' office has begun that process and is expected to hire outside investigators.

James' appointment has itself become contested. Two of the accused men are seeking to disqualify her based on a social media post she made before being appointed, which they argue showed she had prejudged the case. In a separate motion, another defendant has asked the state Supreme Court to bar James from participating in any future grand jury proceedings on the same grounds. Both challenges remain pending. According to NBC News, James has said she is "committed to leading a comprehensive investigation they can trust, guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law."

To conduct an independent review of how the university prevents and responds to sexual harassment and assault, Cornell's Board of Trustees has brought on former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. The university has said it takes allegations of sexual violence 'extremely seriously' and investigated the allegations consistent with its policies, while also committing to additional steps to improve campus safety.

Sarabia's motion is the latest sign that the lawsuit — which names seven fraternity members, the fraternity itself, Cornell University, Doe's sorority Delta Delta Delta, and the bar she visited the night of the alleged assault — may not proceed as a unified case against all defendants. Earlier, Doe's attorney agreed to withdraw claims against the acting president of the Chi Phi chapter at the time, after he was identified as a defendant.

Why it matters — The dismissal motion tests whether a plaintiff can collectively accuse multiple defendants of rape in a single complaint without pleading specific facts against each individual — a question with broad implications for how sexual assault civil cases are structured and litigated.

Sources differ on Whether Doe's participation in drug use and sexual activity that night was voluntary and consensual: DA Van Houten said Doe's November 2024 sworn statement described her participation as 'voluntary, conscious, and consensual' (foxnews.com) vs In a full police interview transcript obtained by CBS New York, Doe told investigators 'I can say with 100% confidence I was raped' (foxnews.com)

Reported by nbcnews.com, abcnews.com, foxnews.com, cbsnews.com, en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com