Billionaire Leon Black Wins Legal Victory in Sexual Assault Lawsuit; Judge Dismisses Case 

By: Ellen Cans

Billionaire Leon Black, the co-founder and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, won a legal victory in the sexual assault lawsuit brought against him.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, New York State Supreme Court Justice David B. Cohen ruled to dismiss the case claiming rape and defamation, brought by Guzel Ganieva.  The ruling, which will likely putting an end to the two-year long legal battle, comes after the prominent #MeToo lawyers dropped out of the case.

The judge ruled on Wednesday that Ganieva’s claims were invalid, mainly because of the nondisclosure agreement which she willingly signed with Black in 2015, after the relationship had ended, and the $9.5 million which she then accepted over a six year period.  The Manhattan judge said that Ganieva accepted significant remuneration, had never contested it and therefore cannot now come and say she signed under duress.  The ruling added that there also wasn’t proof that she hadn’t understood what she was signing.  “The NDA clearly and unambiguously covers all claims arising out of the parties’ relationship, past or future,” Cohen wrote.

Black, 71, has denied raping or behaving inappropriately with Ganieva, who is about three decades younger.  Throughout the bitter legal battle, he has maintained that he shared a years long consensual relationship some two decades ago with Ganieva, a Russian immigrant model whom he met when she was in her early 20s.  Ganieva, a single mother, first made her claims against the billionaire financier, in a tweet in March of 2021, saying he had “sexually harassed and abused” her “for years.”   He had publicly responded that April saying he had “foolishly had a consensual affair” with her and that she extorted him.  She then sued for rape and defamation, saying he falsely accused her of extortion after she accused him of rape.  She said in her lawsuit, that she was prompted to speak out because of public comments he made, claiming that no one had ever alleged he had engaged in wrongdoing.

“From the very beginning, I’ve made clear that Ms. Ganieva’s allegations against me were false and there was no basis for this suit,” Black said in a statement following the recent judgment. “I am gratified that the truth has come out and justice has been finally done.”   Per the Post, Black had abruptly quit as chief executive and chairman of Apollo Global Management in 2021, following an independent review conducted by the Dechert law firm saying that he had paid the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning. As per Reuters, the report found that Black was not involved with Epstein’s criminal activities. Black had said he deeply regretted his involvement with Epstein. Black has an estimated net worth of roughly$8.8 billion, as per Forbes.

Ganieva, whose illustrious lawyers from Wigdor LLP withdrew from the case this March, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Black is still facing a second lawsuit by another woman, Cheri Pierson, who has accused him of raping her two decades ago in the Manhattan mansion of late financier Jeffrey Epstein.   Black’s lawyer, Susan Estrich, said in an interview after Cohen’s decision that the Pierson’s lawsuit, like Ganieva’s, had no merit and “will likely be dismissed.”