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Edited by: TJVNews.com
Lorna Beach-Mathura, who has filed a civil lawsuit accusing New York City Mayor Eric Adams of sexual assault, missed a court-ordered deposition this month, citing a severe anxiety attack that required immediate medical attention. In a new court filing submitted late Wednesday, Beach-Mathura explained that her health breakdown, exacerbated by stress, prevented her from attending the September 6, 2024, deposition. She also pointed to the mayor’s legal team as a contributing factor to her mental and physical condition, according to The New York Daily News.
Woman claims NYC Mayor Eric Adams sexually assaulted her in 1993
The suit, brought by Lorna Beach Mathura says she worked for Adams as employees of the city, charges include sexual assault, battery, discrimination based on gender, claims of retaliationhttps://t.co/ZBRaoYmsJJ pic.twitter.com/kxZPVN3H1J
— Al (@Al01619246) April 7, 2024
In her court filing, Beach-Mathura described how the morning of the scheduled deposition unfolded with unexpected health complications. “The day of my scheduled deposition, I woke up in an extreme state of duress, unable to breathe and hear properly with a hoarse voice, and throat pain. I became very concerned about my health,” she said, as was reported by The New York Daily News. Beach-Mathura wrote in the submission to Manhattan Supreme Court. These symptoms, she explained, worsened her underlying anxiety and depression, leaving her unable to fulfill her legal obligation that day.
According to The New York Daily News, Beach-Mathura sought urgent medical care the same day, realizing that her symptoms required professional intervention. “These symptoms greatly exacerbated my underlying anxiety and depression, and I realized that I needed to seek urgent medical care,” she noted in the filing. She was later diagnosed with acute sinusitis at a Manhattan urgent care facility and was prescribed antibiotics and steroids to address her physical symptoms.
In her filing, Beach-Mathura expressed remorse for her inability to appear at the deposition, apologizing to both the court and the individuals involved. “Due to these unfortunate mental and health conditions beyond my control, I was unable to appear at my September 6, 2024, deposition. I apologize to the court and to everyone who was affected by my inability to appear,” she wrote, as was indicated in The New York Daily News report.
Her explanation was supported by medical records attached to the filing, confirming that she had indeed sought medical treatment on the day of the missed deposition. According to the records, Beach-Mathura was treated for acute sinusitis, a condition marked by inflammation of the sinus tissues that can cause pain, pressure, and respiratory problems.
Beach-Mathura’s lawsuit against Mayor Adams revolves around allegations of sexual assault that date back to their time working together in the now-defunct city Transit Police Department. The New York Daily News report said that the case has attracted significant public attention, given the high-profile nature of the defendant, who currently serves as the Mayor of New York City. Mayor Adams has consistently denied the accusations, and the case remains ongoing in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The missed deposition is a key event in the lawsuit’s development. Depositions, a vital part of the pre-trial discovery process, allow both parties to gather sworn testimony that can be used in court. Missing such an important legal proceeding may lead to delays in the case or raise concerns about the plaintiff’s ability to proceed with the case. However, The New York Daily News report noted that Beach-Mathura’s detailed account of her health struggles, backed by medical evidence, could mitigate potential consequences for her absence.
Beach-Mathura specifically named Queens Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and other female supporters of Mayor Adams, whose public statements questioned her intentions and motives. As per the information provided in The New York Daily News report, these statements, according to Beach-Mathura, added to her emotional distress. “I was … utterly horrified to learn that the mayor and/or the mayor’s office apparently collected quotes from women leaders saying terrible things about me, even though none of those women ever met me,” she wrote in the filing.
The remarks from Adams’ supporters suggested that Beach-Mathura might have “ulterior motives” in pursuing the lawsuit, implying that her claims were not based on fact but rather on a hidden agenda. As was pointed out in The New York Daily News report, Beach-Mathura argued that these public statements not only undermined her credibility but also worsened her anxiety and contributed to the health emergency that prevented her from appearing at the deposition on September 6, 2024.
Mayor Adams has consistently denied the sexual assault allegations made by Beach-Mathura, which date back more than three decades to when both worked for the Transit Police Department. His spokeswoman declined to comment on the recent filing and referred inquiries to Spiro, the mayor’s attorney. Spiro, however, did not immediately respond to questions sent via email, according to The New York Daily News.
Spiro has previously questioned the lack of corroborating evidence in Beach-Mathura’s claims. He has made it a central point of the defense that no substantial proof has been produced to validate the allegations, further challenging Beach-Mathura’s credibility in the legal battle. This aggressive legal strategy, combined with the public relations campaign led by Adams’ allies, seems to have taken a significant toll on Beach-Mathura’s mental health.
In response to Spiro’s suggestion that she lacked evidence to support her claim, Beach-Mathura attached multiple exhibits to her court filing in an effort to push back against this narrative. Also noted in The New York Daily News report was that one of the key exhibits was an email she sent on June 16, 2021, to the New York Post’s tip line, in which she laid out the details of her assault allegation in a manner that closely mirrors the claims in her current lawsuit.
Beach-Mathura’s email to the Post was sent just one week before Adams won the Democratic mayoral primary in 2021, and it included extensive details about the alleged assault. “Eric Adams talks proudly about his career and professional accomplishments in the NYPD. Yet I haven’t heard him talk about his sexual harassment of a co-worker when he was a detective,” Beach-Mathura wrote in her message to the newspaper, as reported by The New York Daily News.
Despite the gravity of the claims, The New York Post did not publish a story, nor did the outlet respond to her message. “I did not hear back from either of my communications and as far as I know no one followed up,” she wrote in the recent court filing, The Daily News report said. The paper’s lack of response left Beach-Mathura feeling disillusioned as Adams continued his rise in public office. “I felt that the people of New York City had been duped when I heard that Defendant Eric Adams had won the mayoral election,” she added.
She also sent a similar email to the mayoral campaign of Andrew Yang, one of Adams’ opponents in the race, further indicating that her claims were not newly fabricated but rather part of an ongoing effort to bring the allegations to light.
Alex Spiro, a prominent attorney known for representing celebrities like Elon Musk, has been retained by the New York City Law Department to defend Mayor Adams in this high-profile case. In a recent legal filing, Spiro asked the court to dismiss Beach-Mathura’s lawsuit, citing her failure to attend the court-ordered deposition. The New York Daily News report said that Spiro argued that Beach-Mathura’s claims are “fictitious” and suggested she was deliberately delaying the legal proceedings. During an August 24 hearing, he emphasized that her failure to appear for the deposition should prompt the court to consider dismissing the case.
Beach-Mathura, who now lives in Florida, also revealed in her court documents that her family members had been approached by an associate of Alex Spiro. She identified the individual as Philip Jobe, who introduced himself as an “investigator” from Spiro’s law firm. According to her filing, Jobe’s visits raised alarm for Beach-Mathura and her relatives, exacerbating her anxiety and deepening concerns about their safety. “I became even more concerned for the safety of my friends and family as well as myself, and my anxiety again skyrocketed,” she wrote.
Beach-Mathura’s lawsuit, filed in March 2024, centers on allegations of sexual harassment from more than three decades ago. According to the lawsuit, Adams—then a transit cop—attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him in a car in 1993 after she sought his help regarding an employment-related matter, The New York Daily News reported. When she refused his advances, Adams allegedly ejaculated on her leg before dropping her off at a subway station. The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million in damages.
The timing of Beach-Mathura’s legal action is significant. Her notice of claim was submitted in November 2023, just before the deadline set by the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that gave survivors of sexual abuse a one-year window to file lawsuits against their alleged perpetrators, regardless of the statute of limitations, the report added. The law, enacted in 2022, has provided a pathway for individuals such as Beach-Mathura to pursue legal action for incidents that occurred many years prior.
