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U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said Jeanne
Bellino waited too long to sue the 75-year-old Tyler, who has
"vehemently" denied her allegations, under a New York City law
protecting victims of gender-motivated violence.
The judge said Bellino did not qualify for a two-year window to
pursue claims that would otherwise extend beyond statutes of
limitations, because she did not allege that Tyler's conduct
posed a "serious risk of physical injury."
And in a ruling that could affect other cases, Kaplan said two
state laws, the Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act,
preempted Bellino's claim, "substantially for the reasons" given
by Tyler's lawyers.
The lawyers said those laws, whose windows to sue have expired,
"occupy the field regarding the revival of claims derived from
state penal sexual assault law," and Bellino showed a "lack of
diligence" by not suing under the Child Victims Act.
A lawyer for Bellino did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
David Long-Daniels, a lawyer for Tyler, said: "We agree with the
judge's reasoning, and are grateful for this result on behalf of
our client."
Bellino said she was 17 in the summer of 1975 when a friend
arranged for her to meet Aerosmith after a Manhattan fashion
show.
She alleged that as she walked down the street with Tyler and
his entourage, Tyler, then 27, forced her into a phone booth
where he groped her, engaged in simulated sex and put his tongue
down her throat, as others stood by laughing.
Bellino said that because she was sharing costs with the friend
to ride home to Queens, she went with the entourage to the
Warwick Hotel, where Tyler allegedly pinned her against a well
and again assaulted her.
Tyler has also defended against a lawsuit in Los Angeles, where
another woman, Julia Misley, claimed he sexually assaulted her
in 1973 when she was 16 and he was 25. Bellino's law firm has
represented Misley in that case.
Tyler's given name is Steven Tallarico. Bellino's case is
Bellino v Tallarico, U.S. District Court, Southern District of
New York, No. 24-00712.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill
Berkrot)
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