A sexual assault lawsuit against a prominent metro Detroit attorney is moving forward.
The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected Mike Morse's request to drop the $10 million suit against him, which was filed by a woman who says he grabbed her breast during a photo in a restaurant in 2017.
A trial court initially rejected the lawsuit, but it was later reinstated by the Court of Appeals.
Two former co-workers have also accused the attorney of grabbing their breasts in separate incidents.
Morse has denied the allegations, and his attorney said the woman who filed the suit 'blatantly lied.'
"The Court of Appeals did not dispute the serious, manipulative lies, but held that dismissal was too severe a sanction. I disagree," Morse's attorney said. "Our justice system must be vigilant as to blatant lies designed to manipulate the system. Now Ms. Swain's 'blatant lies' will be put in front of the jury. She will not fare any better there."
On the other side, Morse critic and fellow high-profile lawyer Geoffrey Fieger applauded the court's decision. "Significantly, the Court of Appeals also reversed a separate ruling by the trial court and held, as a matter of law, that reasonable people could consider sexual assault to be extreme and outrageous conduct," Fieger said in a release. "This is a landmark ruling in Michigan and a significant legal tool to help victims of sexual assault hold assailants accountable for their misconduct."
