LOS ANGELES (CN) - Stormy Daniels said in a federal court filing Friday that the proper venue for her lawsuit against her former lawyer Keith Davidson is in Los Angeles Superior Court, not federal court, since Davidson is a California resident.
Daniels sued Davidson on June 6, claiming he colluded with President Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen to discredit her story of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006 in Lake Tahoe.
In her 2-page motion, Daniels said Cohen used “procedural gamesmanship” when he filed a motion to have her lawsuit in California state court transferred to federal court.
“This is a textbook example of such gamesmanship,” the motion said.
Cohen’s motion to move the case to federal court didn’t give Daniels enough time to serve neither Davidson nor Cohen with the lawsuit, the motion said.
Daniels asked U.S Central District of California Judge S. James Otero to set a date for a hearing on the motion.
In her June 6 complaint, Daniels, born Stephanie Clifford, says Davidson, who represented her in 2016, communicated with Cohen through text messages without her knowledge or consent.
Daniels called Davidson a “puppet” for Cohen and Trump, according to her lawsuit.
In court filings, Daniels’ current attorney Michael Avenatti has referred to Cohen as Trump’s personal “fixer.”
Davidson and Avenatti did not respond by press time to separate requests for comment.
Daniels claims that on Jan. 17, 2018, Davidson and Cohen exchanged text messages to hash out a plan to get her to appear on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show to deny an In Touch magazine article that detailed her alleged affair with Trump.
Daniels names both men as defendants on claims of breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty. She seeks damages, including punitive damages, and seeks an order directing her entire client file – including all messages relating to her – be turned over to her.
In an answer to her complaint, Davidson said Daniels contacted him “seemingly hundreds of times” to request that he reach out to Cohen and get his permission for various financial opportunities that would not violate the non-disclosure agreement.
He seeks attorney fees and costs as well as the dismissal of her complaint.
In a separate cross-complaint, Davidson accuses Cohen of invading his privacy by recording several phone calls between the two men, in an alleged violation of California law.
Cohen is currently under criminal investigation in federal court in New York, after his office and hotel room were raided by federal agents seeking documents related to the payment to Daniels.
Daniels’ federal lawsuit against Trump, Cohen and Essential Consultants – a company Cohen set up to facilitate the payment – argues the nondisclosure agreement she signed is invalid since Trump never signed it. She has offered to repay the money to Cohen.
Trump, through White House officials, has continued to deny the affair with Daniels took place.
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