Vin Diesel lawsuit dismissed over this legal rule

A judge is dismissing a sexual battery and retaliation lawsuit against Vin Diesel, but his ex-assistant's fight over a "technicality" will continue.

Asta Jonasson claimed in a 2023 lawsuit that the "Fast & Furious" actor sexually assaulted her in the fall of 2010 during the filming of "Fast Five" in Atlanta, during which she was working as his assistant. Judge Daniel M. Crowley granted Diesel's lawyers' request to dismiss the California lawsuit on Wednesday, Nov. 19, ruling that the state's laws do not apply because the alleged misconduct happened in Georgia.

The court cited "presumption against extraterritoriality," a legal rule suggesting that California laws only apply to issues within the state. Jonasson's team argued that the claims have "sufficient" connection to California; however, Crowley ruled that the California laws her legal team cited do not appear to apply to out-of-state behavior.

USA TODAY has reached out to Diesel and Jonasson's legal teams for comment.

Jonasson's lawyer told USA TODAY in a statement that her team will appeal.

The court "did not decide anything about the truth of Ms. Asta Jonasson's allegations," attorney Matthew Hall wrote in a statement Thursday, Nov. 20. "The ruling was based on a legal technicality, with which we respectfully disagree. Ms. Jonasson intends to appeal."

Jonasson was suing Diesel for several claims including sexual battery, retaliation, wrongful termination, negligent supervision and retention and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to the lawsuit, Jonasson was hired by the actor's production company One Race to work for him in various capacities, including organizing and accompanying Diesel to parties and ensuring she was nearby in photos if the actor attended events without his longtime girlfriend. She claimed that, during filming of the fifth installment of the "Fast and Furious" franchise, she was assaulted and then unceremoniously fired.

Bryan Freedman, a Los Angeles-based lawyer representing Diesel, said in a statement at the time of the filing that the action star "categorically denies this claim in its entirety," noting "there is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations" and calling Jonasson a "purportedly 9-day employee."

Wednesday's ruling comes after the judge ruled to dismiss four different claims of harassment in June over a technicality. Because Jonasson levied her claims under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, he ruled, she would have been required to file a complaint with the state's Civil Rights Division within a certain time frame.

Contributing: Anna Kaufman, Melissa Ruggieri and Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY