Lenny Hochstein is pushing back after a woman filed a civil suit accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his Star Island home. Hochstein denies the allegations, and his attorney says the defense will roll out video and text-message evidence that, they argue, tells a very different story. The lawyer’s account of that footage, which the plaintiff disputes, has already set up sharply competing narratives.
The complaint, filed under the pseudonym "Jane Doe," says the woman met a younger man at Sopra Club during a visit to Miami in May 2025 and accepted what she thought was an invitation to a private afterparty that never materialized. According to the suit, Hochstein gave her a pill he described as a sleep aid, she blacked out and woke up the next morning, and she is now seeking damages for sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, as reported by TMZ.
Hochstein's lawyer, Lorne Berkeley, told TMZ the defense has "evidence that we believe materially contradicts the claims," including video his team says shows the woman leaving the mansion smiling, chatting and doing a "little dance" before getting into an Uber. Berkeley also points to post-encounter text messages in which the woman allegedly asks where Hochstein is going the following night, and to alleged settlement demands first made in July 2025. Plaintiff attorney Tony Buzbee disputes that framing, telling TMZ he was aware of the footage and that it "changes nothing."
Context: the public split
The Hochsteins' separation has already played out in court and in the tabloids, and this new civil claim lands on top of a stack of filings and public accusations around the family. As earlier reported on Hoodline, Lisa Hochstein charged in wiretap case, which helps explain why every fresh Miami filing in their orbit keeps drawing local eyes.
What the case could mean legally
Because the complaint describes the administration of a pill and alleges nonconsensual sex, some of the claimed conduct overlaps with Florida's criminal sexual-battery framework. The statute defines sexual battery and specifically lists administering a substance that incapacitates a person without consent among circumstances that can support felony sex charges. But this matter is currently a civil suit seeking damages for sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It proceeds under a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard and typically moves through discovery, motions and, if it is not resolved, a trial. Any potential criminal review would be handled separately by prosecutors. For statutory text and background, see Florida Statutes §794.011 and commentary on IIED standards from legal scholars at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
For now, Hochstein has denied wrongdoing and says he will vigorously defend himself in court. The next public steps are likely to be civil filings and scheduling in Miami-Dade court, and any decision by prosecutors about criminal charges would follow their independent review.
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