Lawyers for ex-Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes have agreed to keep Gretchen Carlson’s sexual harassment lawsuit in New Jersey, according to The New York Times.
Attorneys for Ailes were hoping to move Carlson’s suit from New Jersey (where it was filed) to arbitration in the Southern District Court in New York. Lawyers for Carlson accused Ailes’ team of “judge shopping,” according to the Times.
Last month, Ailes lawyers argued that the case should be handled in arbitration rather than in court, and that New York City was the right venue for the case. The legal team believed if the lawsuit remained in the Garden State, the details of the case would be public, which would give her the advantage of dragging Alies’ reputation through a public forum.
Carlson’s suit, filed in July, claims the former “Real Story” host refused Ailes’ sexual advances and, “as a direct and proximate result,” her relationship with Fox News was severed nine months later. According to the filing, Carlson’s employment was terminated on June 23, 2016.
The New Jersey federal court will now decide whether the case will go to trial or to arbitration. 21st Century Fox is requesting that Ailes pay for at least part of the impending settlement in Carlson’s sexual harassment suit, according to Vanity Fair.
Ailes has continued to deny all accusations against him, but several other women have come forward with similar claims. He stepped down as Fox News boss last month and Rubert Murdoch is running the network until a permanent replacement is named.