The pop star accuses former KYGO 98.5 FM Denver morning cohost David Mueller of groping her at a backstage meet-and-greet. "It was completely intentional, and I have never been so sure of anything in my life," she testified at a deposition.
In turn, Mueller denies the assault and battery claim and contends that Swift and her team got him fired for no good reason.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, both versions will be heard by a jury at a nine-day trial beginning Aug. 7 as a Colorado federal judge on Wednesday partially rejected Swift's summary judgment bid to defeat Mueller's claims. Mueller won't move ahead on slander, but he's being given the opportunity to make a case for tortious interference.
"Having reviewed these evidentiary materials, the Court finds that the central and genuine dispute remains," writes U.S. District Court judge William Martinez in the opinion (read here). "Certain witnesses’ testimony tends to corroborate Swift’s version of events, and Mueller points to other evidence that he argues shows inconsistencies in Swift’s story. None of this changes the reality that if a jury accepts Mueller’s version of the facts, then it must substantially reject Swift’s version, and vice versa. In ruling on summary judgment, it is not the Court’s role to resolve this dispute."
Martinez writes that given the Swift team's familiarity with KYGO, a jury could conclude that she and other defendants — her mother, Andrea, and Swift's radio promotions director, Frank Bell — reasonably should have known that Mueller had some form of employment contract.
The judge is also requiring all parties — including Swift — to be present during the entirety of the jury trial. Expect Swift in Colorado this August.
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