The woman, only identified as Jane Doe, claims Sanz “groomed” her as a teen fan of the show. She also claims that in May 2002, when she was 17, Sanz kissed her, groped her, and attempted to digitally penetrate her at a party.
According to Yahoo News, she filed suit in August 2021 under a state law that formed a two-year “lookback window” for victims of child sex abuse to bring claims that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations. Recently, New York City amended its own law to establish a two-year lookback period, allowing accusers to sue anyone who enabled such conduct.
According to the complaint, the accuser and her teenage friends attended “SNL” after-parties on a regular basis from 2000 to 2002. According to the lawsuit, Fallon and Sanz would drink with her at these parties, and Fallon once asked her age, to which she replied that she was a junior in high school. According to the complaint, she also met Michaels at one of the parties, who advised her on pursuing a writing career.
According to the lawsuit, Morgan rented out a space in May 2002 for an after-after-party, where Sanz allegedly groped her against her will.
Sanz’s lawyer, Andrew Brettler, has denied the claim, claiming that the woman sought a $7.5 million settlement before filing the lawsuit last year.
Attorney Jeffrey P. Fitz filed the original complaint, which named Sanz and NBCUniversal as defendants. Fitz also claimed that 18 NBCU employees, including Fallon, Morgan, and Michaels, as well as numerous other “SNL” cast members, either knew or should have known about Sanz’s grooming and sexual misconduct.
In April, NBCUniversal filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, claiming that the network was not responsible for Sanz’s behavior outside of work.
“Employers owe no general duty to protect third-persons from the possibility of sexual abuse by their employees,” the network’s lawyers wrote.
In June, Doe hired a new lawyer, Susan Crumiller. Crumiller informed the court of her intention to amend the complaint, making the motion to dismiss moot. Crumiller wants a hearing on September 8 to get permission to file the amended version, which helps to add Fallon, Michaels, and Morgan as defendants.
According to an NBC spokesperson, the network will seek to have the suit rejected once more.
“Regardless of Jane Doe’s changing narratives, NBC intends to renew its motion to dismiss,” the spokesperson said.