June 4, 2025: Actor Vin Diesel scored a partial legal win this week after a Los Angeles judge dismissed four discrimination-related claims in a lawsuit filed against him. However, the case is far from over, as Diesel still faces serious allegations, including sexual battery, wrongful termination, and retaliation.
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The lawsuit was brought in 2023 by Asta Jonasson, a former assistant who worked with Diesel in the early 2010s. In her complaint, Jonasson alleged that Diesel sexually assaulted her in a hotel suite in 2010, claiming he “pinned her against a wall and masturbated in front of her.”
Under ordinary circumstances, such an old allegation would have been barred by California’s statute of limitations. But thanks to a new state law—the Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act, signed in 2023 by Governor Gavin Newsom—survivors of sexual assault dating back as far as 2009 are now allowed to revive and pursue civil claims in court.
Despite this, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Daniel M. Crowley ruled on June 3 that four of Jonasson’s claims, which were filed under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), could not proceed. The judge stated that Jonasson failed to meet the administrative requirement of filing a complaint with the Civil Rights Department within one year of the alleged discrimination or adverse employment action.
“Plaintiff’s FEHA claims are time-barred because she failed to timely exhaust her administrative remedies,” Judge Crowley wrote.
The dismissed charges relate to alleged workplace discrimination and harassment, but the core of the lawsuit—including claims of sexual battery, retaliation, emotional distress, negligent supervision, and wrongful termination—remain active.
Diesel’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, strongly denied the allegations, calling them “fictitious” and vowing to clear the actor’s name.
“We will present irrefutable evidence that the remaining fictitious allegations alleged herein did not occur and finally end what remains of this maliciously filed lawsuit,” Freedman told People magazine.
Jonasson has not responded publicly to the recent ruling, but her legal team is expected to continue pressing forward with the remaining claims, which are now headed toward trial.
The case could take months to resolve, as both sides prepare to present evidence and possibly call witnesses to testify regarding events that allegedly occurred more than a decade ago. As the legal battle continues, Diesel remains under scrutiny—not only in court but also in the court of public opinion.