Ariana Madix has suffered another setback in her legal fight with Rachel Leviss. A California court of appeal ruled that Leviss’ lawsuit can continue, rejecting Madix’s latest effort to end the case. The decision does not determine whether the allegations are true. Rather, it lets the lawsuit proceed with the legal process.
Rachel Leviss’ lawsuit will move forward after Ariana’s attempt to end the case was denied
According to court documents cited by TMZ, the California Court of Appeal agreed with a lower court’s earlier ruling and denied Madix’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit at this stage. Madix argued that her actions were protected by free speech because the “Scandoval” affair became public. The appeals court rejected that argument. Judges stated that the public attention surrounding the affair did not make Leviss’ private sexual videos public.
The ruling centers on claims Leviss made in her 2024 lawsuit against Madix. Leviss claims Madix accessed private videos on Tom Sandoval’s phone, copied them and shared them with others. According to the lawsuit, the videos allegedly showed Leviss undressed and masturbating. Leviss also sued Sandoval, alleging revenge porn, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The appeals court made clear that it did not decide whether Leviss’ allegations were true. The judges also said they were not ruling that Madix sent the videos to anyone other than Leviss. Instead, they found that Madix could not dismiss the lawsuit based on her free speech argument at this stage. Consequently, Leviss can continue pursuing her claims in court. The case will now proceed through the California court system.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN NEXT IN THE LEGAL BATTLE BETWEEN ARIANA MADIX AND RACHEL LEVISS?
