John Travolta 'sexual assault' sailor wins fight to have case heard in court
By MIKE LARKIN
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A sailor who claims John Travolta sexually assaulted him on a cruise ship has won his fight to have his case heard in court.
The Saturday Night Fever star's legal team had tried to prevent it being heard on the grounds his ticket included an agreement to settle all disputes between a passenger and the cruise line in arbitration.
However a federal judge dismissed the motion, saying there is no evidence Fabian Zanzi is bound by the arbitration agreement between Travolta and Royal Caribbean International.
Taking action: John Travolta's attorney filed documents on Friday requesting a lawsuit against the star be dismissed
This is common in cases where one side wants to avoid a public trial, and this decision effectively drives up the price of any potential out of court agreement.
Travolta's attorney Marty Singer previously filed court documents requested the lawsuit by former Royal Caribbean employee Fabian Zanzi be dismissed and that he be forced to pay for legal fees.
In the papers the Get Shorty favourite admitted to being on the 2009 cruise, but denied all claims of misconduct.
As Mail Online previously reported, Zanzi made his shocking claims in May, alleging the incident occurred when he worked as a room service operator for Royal Caribbean International in 2009 and made a delivery to the actor's stateroom.
He was among a steady stream of men to step forward last year with accusations against the star including three masseurs and a gym employee.
The accuser: Former Royal Caribbean employee Fabian Zanzi went public with his accusations last May
Zanzi claimed the Saturday Night Fever favourite asked for a neck massage, and that when he reached over to comply the 58-year-old actor dropped his robe and exposed his erect penis.
The Chilean-born worker, who is suing for unspecified damages, says he resisted, and then Travolta offered him $12k to keep silent.
It emerged Zanzi he never mentioned many of the details when he went to cruise ship management to complain, and he now claims they refused to allow him to write any details regarding nudity or sexual contact.
And Mr Travolta's lawyer Marty Singer drew attention to this in a strongly worded statement.
He said: 'This is another ludicrous lawsuit with inane claims. It is obvious that Mr. Zanzi and his lawyers are looking for their 15 minutes of fame.
'The lawsuit’s ridiculous claims are completely contradicted by what Mr. Zanzi told his employer back in 2009 when he was being disciplined for his own violations of company policy.
'In his handwritten report three years ago, the only physical contact he claimed occurred was allegedly touching my client’s neck.
'The inappropriate conduct he alleges in his lawsuit is absent from his written report he submitted at the time. That glaring omission speaks volumes.
Brushing off the allegations: Travolta and wife Kelly Preston put on a brave face on the red carpet in Los Angeles last June
'Also calling his credibility into question is his dubious allegation that his employer supposedly restrained him in a room on the cruise ship for five days, yet after that supposedly occurred, Mr. Zanzi continued to work for Royal Caribbean for years, on multiple ships.
'Now, after waiting three years, and after getting paid to tell his story to the media, Mr. Zanzi has filed this absurd lawsuit.
'We are confident that my client will prevail on the merits and that he will be completely vindicated in court.'
Mr Singer was referring to an employee discipline form where it is stated Fabian Zanzi admitted to superiors at Royal Caribbean International he rubbed the Look Who's Talking star's neck, but turned down his request that he return later.
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John Travolta's Cruise Ship Case Dropped
Actor said it was a "fabrication" that he disrobed and forcefully embraced another man.
John Travolta
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On Friday, a judge denied Travolta's attempt to throw it into arbitration. On Monday, the parties agreed to drop the case. Neither party was available to discuss what prompted the dismissal.
In the lawsuit, Travolta gave his own sworn declaration.
"While I was indeed a passenger aboard the MS Enchantment of the Seas in or about June 2009, Mr. Zanzi's allegations in the Complaint are entirely false, including... a purported physical encounter with me and his allegations... regarding an alleged financial offer I made him. None of these events happened, and Zanzi's allegations are pure fabrication."In preparing to defend the lawsuit, Travolta's attorney Marty Singer threatened to go after Zanzi for malicious prosecution.
In December, a motion was also made to get Zanzi to put up a bond of $75,000 if he wished to continue given what Travolta's attorney said was the possibility that a judge would later award Travolta's attorney's fees and the "reasonable possibility" that Travolta would defeat the claims of the plaintiff, a resident of Chile.
The dismissal figures to save some unwelcome press as well as some airfare. In the case, Travolta's lawyers said they would have to travel to at least three foreign countries to conduct depositions. Now, the case of an alleged massage gone bad on the high seas is over.
E-mail: eriq.gardner@thr.com; Twitter: @eriqgardner
Knopf U.S. investigating publishing Scientology tell-all in Canada
Ontario’s libel laws are much tougher on publishers than similar legislation in the U.S., where freedom of speech has a premium value
SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hollywood actor Tom Cruise is a practising Scientologist.
Lawrence Wright’s highly buzzed book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, may eventually be available in Canada, pending a review of Canadian libel laws and the book’s chances of being dragged into lengthy and expensive litigation by the Church of Scientology, says a spokesman for New York-based publisher Alfred A. Knopf.
“Knopf U.S. holds the Canadian rights to the book and due to the tight publishing schedule, a Canadian legal review was not completed at the time of the U.S. publication,” the company representative said in a prepared statement.
“Given the differing legal systems in the US and Canada, Knopf decided not to make the book available for distribution in Canada at the present time until such legal review is completed.”
Among the claims in the Pulitzer Prize winning author’s book released earlier this month are:
<bullet>The Church of Scientology comprises only 25,000 – 30,000 members, not the 8 million it claims, and allegedly has more than $1 billion in liquid assets.
<bullet>Founder L. Ron Hubbard, a sci-fi author, underwent a dental operation on New Year’s Day, 1938, and claimed that while under gas anesthetic the secrets of the universe had been revealed to him.
<bullet>Current Church leader David Miscavige is allegedly the inspiration for Tom Cruise’s character in the movie A Few Good Men. Miscavige also allegedly took charge of Cruise’s love life after his divorce from Nicole Kidman, setting up a fake audition for a movie role alongside the star. Katie Holmes was one of the contenders.
<bullet>Canadian screenwriter Paul Haggis, a Church member for more than 30 years, turned his back on Scientology for its anti-gay teachings, and has been relentlessly hounded ever since.
Ontario’s libel laws are much tougher on publishers than similar legislation in the U.S., where freedom of speech has a premium value, says University of Toronto Professor of Law Emeritus Jacob Ziegel.
And “not just publishers, but everyone who has something to do with the dissemination of the material in question, from the author to the book seller.
“Canada’s libel laws generally put publishers at considerable risk. . . They’re seriously antiquated and need to be changed.”
Canadian retail book chain Chapters Indigo, which briefly advertised the book for sale on its web site last week, is also steering clear of Going Clear.
“This book has not been published in Canada, nor has it been purchased by Indigo Books & Music Inc.,” the company said. The book has also been withheld in Britain, whose libel laws are even tougher on publishers than Canada’s.
The renowned litigious practices of the Scientology organization, which denounced the book as fallacious and factually deficient, didn’t stop Amazon.ca, the Canadian arm of Seattle-based Internet retailer Amazon.com, from making the book available across Canada on its web site last week, where it was being sold for $15.56 plus shipping and handling.
On Monday, however, the book was mysteriously marked “unavailable” on Amazon.ca, but was still for sale on Amazon.com, with no limitations.
The company did not respond to the Star’s request for an interview by press time.
This may be the first time the mere fear of libel action has blocked a book’s publication in Canada, says Bill Harnum, president of the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP).
If the Church of Scientology is going to make a legal strike against Going Clear, it will likely be in Canada, because our libel laws are more favorable to alleged victims of defamation, book industry insiders say.
Those laws make Canada excellent libel chill territory, says Franklin Carter, editor and researcher for Canada’s Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee.
“Libel chill — the fear of getting sucked into an expensive, open-ended court battle for publishing something negative but true about a wealthy person or organization — isn’t new,” Carter says.
A recent decision (Grant Vs. Torstar Corp) that allows material published responsibly, and in the public interest, to be defended in defamation cases, has done little to mitigate the chill, he claims.
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