Nick Carter's Counterclaim Against Sexual Battery Accuser Will Continue After Nevada Supreme Court Denies Appeal

Mar. 15, 2025

Nick Carter performs in Stockholm in July 2024.Photo:Iwi Onodera/Redferns

Iwi Onodera/Redferns

Nick Carter’s counterclaim against accuser Shannon Ruth, whosued him in 2022 claiming that he raped her on a tour busin Tacoma in 2001, has a judge’s permission to move forward.

When Ruth filed her appeal, his legal team provided the court with previews of their case, claiming that it would have been “impossible” for Ruth to have been raped on a tour bus in Tacoma in 2001.

His legal team also previouslyrequested a hearing and asked the court to grant him a summary judgmenton Ruth’s claims.

In Ruth’s initial filing, she sued him for “sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.”

However, in his counterclaim, Carter provides evidence disputing Ruth’s claim with several witnesses, including Backstreet Boy security, confirming they did a “quick out” after a concert where she was allegedly waiting in an autograph line. (His team claims no such line existed.)

“It would be impossible for any fan to be alone with any of the band members on their tour bus,” the filing states.

Susan Riggs, a friend of the band and Carter at the time, previously testified that she “personally observed Carter exit the venue, board his tour bus and immediately drive away,” while Ashley Large, a fan, went to a meet-and-greet prior to the show, but claims there was no autograph line after the show.

Fans have also confirmed that Carter was immediately transported to the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle shortly after the concert.

His lawyers also previously claimed that she has been unable to recall several details from the incident in question including details about a beverage called a “VIP Drink” she was allegedly served, how much time had passed from between going from the bus to the bathroom where she claimed to be assaulted and how Carter told her to “orally copulate him.”

“Based on the actual and significant evidentiary record, Carter did not rape Ruth and her moving target story does not create a genuine issue where a reasonable jury would return a verdict in her favor,” the motion stated.

Lawyers for Ruth did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The singer-songwriter Carter has faced accusations of sexual assault from three women since 2017, including Schuman and Ruth.

Carter’s lawyer denied the allegations.

source: people.com