A massage therapist who says Harvey Weinstein tried to rape her in a Beverly Hills hotel room and that Knicks owner James Dolan sexually battered her during a 2013 tour has refiled her case, this time in New York County Supreme Court. Kellye Croft's new complaint arrives after two federal courts in California rejected her sex-trafficking theory but left her underlying assault claims untouched, opening the door to a fresh fight in Manhattan.
According to the complaint, Croft alleges Weinstein lured her to his suite at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills under the pretext of discussing massage jobs on film productions, then followed her to her own hotel room wearing a bathrobe and attempted to rape her, as detailed by Courthouse News. Croft claims Dolan orchestrated the introduction between her and Weinstein, according to the same filing. Per Law Commentary, Croft says the events trace back to 2013, when she was a 27-year-old licensed massage therapist working on the Eagles' History of the Eagles tour, for which Dolan's band, JD & The Straight Shot, opened during portions of the run.
Croft, now 39, alleges Dolan first forced himself on her during a professional massage in Miami in 2013, then pressured her into additional unwanted sexual encounters after she traveled to Los Angeles, the outlet reports. She says Dolan later spoke to Weinstein about her, and that Weinstein offered to discuss massage work on film productions before the alleged Beverly Hills assault occurred while she was staying at the same hotel as Dolan and his band.
A Federal Case That Fell Apart Twice
Croft's claims first went to federal court in Los Angeles, where U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson dismissed her federal sex-trafficking allegations with prejudice in September 2024, ruling she had not plausibly alleged a commercial sex act as required under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. As reported by News4JAX, Anderson dismissed her state-law assault and battery claims without prejudice rather than ruling on their merits, which allowed Croft to eventually refile them elsewhere.
The dismissal did not end there. A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the federal dismissal with prejudice in December 2025, finding that Croft's claims against James Dolan failed because she did not adequately plead the required illicit means, according to the Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Judges Morgan Christen, Danielle J. Forrest, and Milan D. Smith Jr. issued the memorandum opinion, which upheld the trafficking dismissal but did not address the merits of Croft's state tort claims, leaving those unresolved.
Why the Case Landed in Manhattan
Why the Case Landed in Manhattan Croft's new complaint asserts venue in New York County under CPLR § 503(a), per the filing described by Courthouse News.
Weinstein's presence in that facility ties back to his parallel criminal case, which is also unfolding in Manhattan. The New York Court of Appeals overturned his original 2020 Manhattan sex-crimes conviction in April 2024, sending the case back for retrial, as Hoodline has previously reported. That original conviction had carried a 23-year sentence.
Croft's new case centers on allegations of sexual misconduct by Dolan and Weinstein, including Dolan's alleged role in arranging the encounter with Weinstein.
The Song at the Center of a Timeline Dispute
One of the sharpest factual disputes in the case involves a song. In August 2018, Dolan released a track called “I Should've Known” with his band JD & The Straight Shot about Weinstein, with lyrics expressing regret for failing to stop his attacks, according to The Guardian. Croft's complaint characterizes the song as a “musical mistruth,” since she says she told Dolan about the assault shortly after it happened in 2014 — meaning, in her account, Dolan already knew rather than merely suspecting it years later. Dolan had previously served on the board of directors of The Weinstein Company. Croft has also said she told Dolan directly what had happened to her, and that Dolan at the time described Weinstein as a troubled person who has problems, saying his friends were trying to get Weinstein help.
Law Commentary notes that the 2024 Supreme Court decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma restricted bankruptcy courts from approving certain non-debtor releases without the consent of affected parties, a ruling that bears on disputes like hers.
Denials and What Comes Next
Both men have denied Croft's allegations. A spokesperson for Weinstein said he did not sexually assault or attempt to rape Croft, while a spokesperson for Dolan called the lawsuit meritless and said it would be dismissed, according to Law Commentary. Dolan had also denied Croft's allegations when she first brought them in 2024.
Croft is represented by civil rights attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor and Meredith Firetog of Wigdor LLP alongside Kevin Mintzer, P.C.
For now, the case remains at an early pleading stage in New York state court, and both Weinstein and Dolan can respond to the complaint or seek its dismissal.
