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Garth Ancier sues sex-abuse accuser Michael Egan, attorneys

Michael Egan, the man who accused Garth Ancier and others of sexually abusing him when he was a teenager.
Michael Egan, the man who accused Garth Ancier and others of sexually abusing him when he was a teenager.
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
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Former TV executive Garth Ancier has filed a lawsuit against the man who accused him of sexual abuse and then dropped his case.

In April, Michael Egan filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in Hawaii that claimed he was sexually abused by Ancier when he was a teenager in the late 1990s. Egan voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit this week, after dismissing a similar complaint against former Walt Disney Television President David Neuman earlier this month.

Ancier’s complaint, filed in Hawaii, accuses Egan and his attorneys, Jeffrey Herman and Michael Gallagher, of malicious prosecution and abuse of process. According to the complaint, Ancier is seeking an unspecified amount, including attorneys’ fees and punitive damages to be determined at trial.

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“The Action was brought to smear, harass and severely injure Mr. Ancier,” the complaint said, “as part of an avowed and very public campaign by Mr. Egan’s counsel to troll for new clients who would enable them to shake down other entertainment industry executives with threats of sexual assault charges.”

Ancier was one of four prominent entertainment industry executives Egan has accused of sexual assault, including “X-Men: Days of Future Past” director Bryan Singer. Egan said he was abused at estates in Encino and Hawaii.

Egan’s suits against Singer and producer Gary Goddard are still pending.

Herman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter: @rfaughnder

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