In a landmark decision for survivors of historic sexual abuse, the New York State Supreme Court has thrown out an attempt to bring defamation claims against two women who filed allegations of sexual abuse under the Adult Survivors Act (ASA), a New York State law giving victims of sexual offenses a one-year lookback window to file civil claims outside the statute of limitations.
The case arose when Integral Yoga Institute, Inc. and Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville, Inc. – organizations associated with His Holiness Swami Satchidananda, the luminary guru who gave the opening address at Woodstock in 1969 – attempted to countersue two women who alleged they were sexually assaulted by the guru in a November 2023 complaint filed under the ASA.
According to the November 2023 filing, the two women became involved with Swami Satchidananda and his Integral Yoga Institute in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Both women allege they were assaulted by Satchidananda, who regularly demanded oral and vaginal sex while initiating them into a culture of complete surrender and subjugation. One plaintiff, who was invited to stand with Satchidananda onstage at both Carnegie Hall and at Woodstock, alleges she was told to keep silent about her sexual abuse because the Swami was known as a “publicly celibate” monk.
Swami Satchidananda, who died in 2002, was not named in the original complaint, which instead listed Integral Yoga Institute, Inc. and Satchidananda Ashram-Yogaville, Inc., as defendants. Both organizations denied the allegations and attempted to countersue the plaintiffs for defamation and tortious interference, arguing that certain alleged statements were defamatory and a conspiratorial attempt to financially ruin their organizations. The plaintiffs moved to dismiss these counterclaims, asserting that the defamation lawsuit was an attempt to intimidate, silence and exact revenge on them for filing their ASA lawsuit. The Honorable Judge Lyle E. Frank of the New York State Supreme Court agreed with them, ruling that the countersuit should be deemed a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) without substantial basis in law. As a result, the plaintiffs are entitled to recover attorneys’ fees.
In the context of increasingly aggressive attempts to weaponize defamation laws, the case marks an important test for the ASA and other lookback windows that offer survivors of sexual assault a second chance at obtaining justice and represents an important victory for the right to free speech by survivors of sexual assault.
“This ruling is a victory not just for the plaintiffs, but for all survivors of sexual violence who have the courage to speak out,” said plaintiff counsel Pamela Takefman, Deputy Head of Sexual Misconduct in Spiritual Communities Practice at McAllister Olivarius. “It sends a powerful and sorely needed message that those who seek to intimidate, silence, or punish survivors for telling the truth will not succeed.”
For more information and interviews with plaintiffs, please contact:
Eva Hoier Greene
E: egreene@mcolaw.com
T: +34 606 980 457