Lawsuit Tossed In Taylor Swift Trial

Taylor Swift teared up and hugged her attorneys after a judge determined a former radio host did not prove she personally set out to have him fired for allegedly groping her at a photo op before a concert. But the singer’s ordeal isn’t over quite yet.

David Zalubowski/AP – Outside The Courtroom
Attorney Douglas Baldridge, center, who represented pop singer Taylor Swift, emerges from the federal courthouse in Denver.

While U.S. District Judge William Martinez threw out David Mueller’s case against Swift on Friday, identical allegations against her mother and her radio liaison are expected to go to jurors on Monday.

Mueller sued the three after Swift’s team reported the alleged 2013 assault in Denver to his bosses. He is seeking up to $3 million, saying the allegation cost him his reputation and his job.

Swift countersued Mueller, saying she wanted a symbolic $1 and the chance to stand up for other women. The jury will still consider her assault claim.

“I couldn’t be more proud to represent somebody like Taylor Swift who’s willing to step up in a situation like this,” attorney Douglas Baldridge said outside court Friday. He also expressed his gratitude for the judge.

Mueller’s team didn’t comment on the decision, which followed days of testimony from the singer and others and just before jurors were set to hear closing arguments.

Swift spent an hour on the witness stand Thursday defiantly recounting what she called a “despicable and horrifying and shocking” encounter before a concert.

“He stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him,” she testified.

“It was a definite grab. A very long grab,” she added in her testimony.

Swift’s testy exchange with Mueller’s attorney occasionally elicited chuckles – even from the six-woman, two-man jury. She got a laugh when she said her security guard saw Mueller “lift my skirt” but someone would have had to have been underneath her to see the actual groping – “and we didn’t have anyone positioned there.”

Swift testified that after the photo was taken, she tried to get as far away from Mueller as she could. She said she told him and his girlfriend, who was also in the photo, “thank you for coming” in a monotone voice before they left.

She also said she was stunned and did not say anything to Mueller or halt the event after he left because she did not want to disappoint several dozen people waiting in line for photos with her.

In the image, shown to jurors during opening statements but not publicly released, Mueller’s hand is behind Swift, just below her waist. Mueller’s then-girlfriend, Shannon Melcher, is on the other side of Swift. All three are smiling.

Melcher testified Friday that she saw nothing happen during the brief encounter and that she and Mueller were rudely confronted and escorted out of the arena that evening. Melcher said Mueller was devastated by the accusation.

She said she and Mueller started out as co-workers at country station KYGO-FM and became romantically involved in February 2013, a few months before the concert. They drifted apart late in 2013, but Melcher says they remained friends.

Bodyguard: I Saw DJ Reach Under Taylor Swift’s Skirt (Posted Friday, August 11 at 12:28 pm PDT)

Taylor Swift’s former bodyguard testified Friday that he saw a DJ reach under her skirt a moment before a photographer snapped their picture during a meet-and-greet where the singer says the radio host groped her.

David Zalubowski/AP – Greg Dent
The former security guard for Taylor Swift emerges from the federal courthouse after testifying in the civil trial for the pop singer Denver.

Security guard Greg Dent, who no longer works for Swift, said he was standing a few steps away but did not intervene because he generally took his cues from the pop star, and she gave him no signals during the 2013 pre-concert encounter at a Denver arena.

Seated at her legal team’s table in a federal courtroom, Swift chuckled when Dent testified that, after the photo was taken, he suspected that KYGO-FM host David Mueller would be at the bar of the arena – and another guard found him there.

Dent’s account came on the fourth day of testimony in a civil trial over dueling lawsuits between Swift and Mueller, who denies groping her and is seeking up to $3 million from the singer-songwriter, her mother and their radio liaison to compensate him for his ruined career.

Swift is countersuing for just $1 and what she calls a chance to stand up for other women.

A day earlier, Swift spent an hour on the witness stand herself defiantly recounting what she called a “despicable and horrifying and shocking” encounter.

“He stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him,” Swift testified.

“It was a definite grab. A very long grab,” she added in her testimony.

Swift’s testy exchange with Mueller’s attorney occasionally elicited chuckles – even from the six-woman, two-man jury. She got a laugh when she said Dent saw Mueller “lift my skirt” but someone would have had to have been underneath her to see the actual groping – “and we didn’t have anyone positioned there.”

Swift testified that after the photo was taken at the meet-and-greet session, she tried to get as far away Mueller as she could. She said she told him and his girlfriend, who was also in the photo, “thank you for coming” in a monotone voice before they left.

She also said she was stunned and did not say anything to Mueller or halt the event after he left because she did not want to disappoint several dozen people waiting in line for photos with her.

In the image, shown to jurors during opening statements but not publicly released, Mueller’s hand is behind Swift, just below her waist. Both are smiling.

Swift’s photographer, Stephanie Simbeck, testified Thursday that she knew something was wrong as she shot the photo. She testified that Swift later told her what happened, looked at a photo and pointed out Mueller as the person responsible.

The trial is scheduled to last through next Thursday but appeared Friday to be moving quickly toward closing arguments.

Dent’s testimony left Mueller’s former girlfriend, Shannon Melcher, as the only remaining potential witness who was in the room at the time.

Taylor Swift Testifies Former DJ Groped Her (Posted August 10 at 3 p.m. PDT)

Taylor Swift testified Thursday that a former radio DJ reached under her skirt and intentionally grabbed her backside during a meet-and-a-greet photo session before a 2013 concert in Denver.

Jeff Kandyba via AP – On The Stand
Taylor Swift speaks from the witness stand during a trial in Denver.

“He stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him,” the pop star testified during about an hour on the stand in federal court during a trial over the claim.

Swift said she tried to get as far away from David Mueller as she could. She said she told Mueller and his girlfriend, Shannon Melcher, who was also in the photo, “thank you for coming” in a monotone voice before they left.

Swift said she was stunned and did not say anything to Mueller or halt the meet-and-greets after he left because she did not want to disappoint a few dozen people waiting in line to appear in photos with her.

She testified she first mentioned the incident about 15 minutes later to her photographer, Stephanie Simbeck.

Mueller has sued Swift and others on her team, denying he groped Swift and claiming the allegation cost him his job. He is seeking up to $3 million in damages. Swift countersued, alleging sexual assault, and is asking for a symbolic $1 judgment that holds Mueller responsible.

The pop star was cordial in her testimony but direct and sometimes testy while being questioned by a lawyer representing Mueller.

Asked about her reaction when she learned that Mueller had been fired, Swift replied that she was not going to allow the lawyer or Mueller make her feel like it was her fault.

Questioned repeatedly about how she was groped, Swift testified that “it was a definite grab. A very long grab.” She also said that no one else could have groped her.

“It happened to me. I have a 3-D re-creation of what happened in my brain,” she said.

Swift said a photo sent by her  liaison to Robert Call, general manager of the radio station where Mueller worked, showed the exact moment that Mueller groped her.

In the image, shown to jurors during opening statements but not publicly released, Mueller’s hand is behind Swift, just below her waist. Both are smiling.

She said she would not have needed the photo to remember Mueller.

“I could have picked him out of a line of a thousand,” she testified.

Swift also testified that her security guard, Greg Dent, saw David Mueller “lift my skirt” and grab her, but it was impossible for anyone to see Mueller’s hand beneath her skirt and on her buttock because they were posing for the photo with their backs to a wall.

Swift said someone would have had to been underneath her to see the actual groping during the photo shoot “and we didn’t have anyone positioned there.” The line drew laughs from the audience in the courtroom.

Mueller testified Wednesday that the photo taken before the concert was “weird and awkward,” but he insisted that he touched Swift in the ribs, not in the rear.

Mueller testified his hand was touching Swift’s skirt after he put his arm around her and their arms got crossed: “My hand was at rib-cage level and apparently it went down.”

The case is being tried in federal court under a law allowing the proceeding when the parties live in separate states and the dispute involves a damages claim higher than $75,000.

Swift’s Mom Wanted To Keep Allegation Private (Posted Thursday, Aug. 11 at 6 a.m. PDT)

Taylor Swift’s mother said she didn’t call police to report allegations that a radio station DJ groped her daughter before a concert because she didn’t want the moment to define the pop star’s life. Likewise, a liaison for Taylor Swift who deals with radio stations across the country asked the DJ’s boss to keep a photo of the alleged assault confidential.

Jeff Kandyba via AP – Courtroom Drama
Sketch shows Taylor Swift, left, and a defense attorney look on as former radio host David Mueller, background right, speaks during a civil trial in federal court in Denver.

Wednesday’s testimony highlighted an initial attempt to keep the encounter in Denver out of the spotlight. Yet four years later, Swift and former DJ David Mueller are embroiled in a widely publicized federal court case.

“I did not want to make her relive this moment over and over again,” said a tearful Andrea Swift, who described her daughter as “humiliated” and “really shaken” after a meet-and-greet with Mueller.

“We absolutely wanted to keep it private, but we didn’t want him to get away with it,” she said.

Mueller sued Taylor Swift after her team told his bosses at a country music station that he had reached under her dress and touched her backside during a photo op in 2013. He is seeking at least $3 million, saying the allegation cost him his job and reputation.

Swift countersued Mueller, claiming sexual assault. She is seeking a symbolic $1, saying she wants to serve as an example to other women who have been assaulted.

Andrea Swift testified Wednesday that her daughter never urged any specific action against Mueller.

She also said the encounter changed their interactions with the public, explaining that Taylor Swift’s meet-and-greets are now smaller and her interaction with fans at concerts is more limited.

“It absolutely shattered our trust,” Andrea Swift said. “It scared us, scared us very badly.”

The final testimony of the day came from Frank Bell, Swift’s liaison.

He said he emailed the photo of Swift, Mueller and Mueller’s girlfriend to Robert Call, KYGO’s general manager, for use in Call’s investigation of Mueller. In the email sent the morning after the concert, Bell asked Call to keep the photo confidential.

Bell, a longtime friend of the singer-songwriter’s father, also said he didn’t ask that Mueller be fired but that “appropriate action be taken.”

Earlier in the day, Mueller testified that the photo taken before the concert was “weird and awkward,” but he insisted that he touched Swift in the ribs, not in the rear, as she alleges in her lawsuit.

Swift’s attorney Douglas Baldridge repeatedly asked Mueller why his right hand was behind Swift in the picture.

Mueller said his hand was touching Swift’s skirt after he put his arm around her and their arms got crossed.

“My hand was at rib-cage level and apparently it went down,” Mueller said.

In the image, shown to jurors during opening statements but not publicly released, Mueller’s hand is behind Swift, just below her waist. Both are smiling.

McFarland told jurors that the photo does not show Mueller’s hand under Swift’s skirt and that the skirt was not rumpled.

Baldridge, however, said several people noticed the pop star was upset after meeting with Mueller.

Her bodyguard, Greg Dent, has testified in a deposition that he saw Mueller lift Swift’s skirt, Baldridge told jurors.

In addition, Baldridge quoted a deposition by Swift’s photographer Stephanie Simbeck, who said Swift uttered “that guy” had grabbed her behind.

Dent and Simbeck are listed as possible witnesses at the trial.

Baldridge told jurors in his opening statement that Swift is “absolutely certain” she was sexually assaulted by Mueller, and the photo is “damning” proof of it.