Nick Carter’s accuser, Melissa Schuman, pleaded with the court to not put her lawsuit on pause — as the Backstreet Boys singer requested — because she cannot deal with his fan base for much longer, In Touch has exclusively learned.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, Melissa, who was a member of the girl group Dream, asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to shut down Nick’s attempt to stay the entire case.
At the moment, Nick, 44, is involved in a Nevada lawsuit and a California lawsuit. Another woman named Shannon Ruth was the first to file a civil lawsuit against Nick.
In her case, she accused the singer of a 2001 sexual assault on his tour bus.
Nick countersued Shannon — along with Melissa and Melissa’s father — accusing them of coaching Shannon on what to accuse Nick of publicly.
The pop star demanded over $2 million in damages for the trio’s alleged conspiracy to extort a settlement from him.
In his countersuit, Nick accused Melissa, her father and Shannon of using a Twitter account to push “false” information about him.
His lawyer said they used the account “as a “media dump” to disseminate their false, fabricated, defamatory and menacing statements about [Nick].”
His suit added, “Since November 2017, Carter has become the target of a small opportunistic group of conspirators engaged in a harassing, defamatory and otherwise tortious campaign to ruin his reputation for the purpose of advancing their own agendas. The effect of this group’s unlawful conduct and continued harassment has taken an immense toll on Carter, his family, and his band, both emotionally and financially. Carter and his family have received death threats, physical threats, and have had to hire private security.”
The court ruled Nick’s countersuit could proceed against the defendants after he submitted testimony from his therapist and other third parties.
Nick denied all allegations of assault.
Around the same time, Melissa filed her lawsuit in California accusing Nick of sexual assault in 2002. She said the incident went down at a Santa Monica, California, apartment. Melissa claimed she was 18 and Nick was 22. She said he took her virginity despite her protests.
The suit claimed, “[Melissa’s] roommate and childhood friend and [Nick’s] friend were in the apartment in Santa Monica the night [Nick] sexually assaulted [Melissa]; and right after the assault, [Melissa] informed her manager (who made arrangements to keep [Melissa] away from [Nick] while on set), her roommate, her mother and another actor.”
In the lawsuit, Melissa said she reported the incident to police in 2017. However, no criminal charges were ever filed against Nick over the incident.
Nick denied all allegations of wrongdoing in Melissa’s lawsuit.
In a recent motion, Nick argued that the California lawsuit should be put on hold until the outcome of the Nevada case.
He said the outcome of that case will be important in deciding Melissa’s lawsuit – since he claims the assault never happened and Melissa conspired with Shannon and her father to make up the allegations.
In her newly filed opposition, Melissa argued, “Defendants fail to establish that Plaintiff will not be damaged if the stay is granted. Defendants simply declare that Plaintiff will actually benefit from the stay by saving time, money, and resources.” She added, “[Nick’s] request would require [Melissa] to wait to litigate her California claims until after the Nevada case — currently stayed and on appeal — is finally adjudicated. This could take years. Additionally, California courts and juries are in a far better position to enforce and adjudicate California’s statutes addressing the problems with sexual assaults that occur in California than are Nevada’s juries.”
Melissa’s lawyer added, “A factor specific to this litigation is the involvement of [Nick’s] dedicated fan base who have worked tirelessly to discredit, defame and discourage [Melissa] throughout this entire process. [Melissa] should not be forced to endure threats and defamatory statements while waiting months or even years to litigate her case properly filed in California.”
A judge has yet to rule.
Recently, Nick was shut down in his attempt to dismiss the case and have it moved to Nevada.
The judge noted that, “[Melissa] represents there are at least 15 nonparty witnesses currently residing in California, including [Melissa’s] roommate and friend, [Nick’s] friend present in the apartment, [Melissa’s] manager and three other individuals.”
