Neil Gaiman Sexual Assault Suit Dismissal Affirmed by Court of Appeals

Posted in: Comics | Tagged: amanda palmer, neil gaiman

Neil Gaiman Sexual Assault Suit Dismissal Affirmed by Court of Appeals

A US Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a sexual assault lawsuit made against Neil Gaiman on jurisdictional grounds

Published Mon, 29 Jun 2026 16:57:10 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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In October 2026, Bleeding Cool reported that US District Judge James D. Peterson of Wisconsin had dismissed the 2025 lawsuit by Scarlett Pavlovich against Neil Gaiman, accusing him of sexual assault and human trafficking, citing that the case should be litigated in New Zealand, where the alleged events are alleged to have occurred. The decision was based on the doctrine of "forum non conveniens", which allows courts to dismiss cases better suited to another jurisdiction. The court emphasised it was not evaluating the truth of the allegations. After the decision was released, Scarlet Pavlovich's lawyers filed a motion to appeal.

That appeal of Scarlett Pavlovich's case against Neil Gaiman has now been decided, with the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirming US District Judge James D. Peterson's October 2025 dismissal. In the decision, Seventh Circuit judges Judge Michael Y. Scudder Jr., Judge Amy J. St Eve, and Judge Joshua P. Kolar, have upheld the judgment made last October on Forum Non Conveniens grounds. The decision states that "Pavlovich argues the district court abused its discretion in concluding that litigating in New Zealand would offer better access to evidence" and that "Pavlovich argued in her briefs on appeal that, when Congress has applied a remedy extraterritorially, a district court cannot dismiss for forum non conveniens. But she has waived this issue twice over." But these were dismissed, the court found no abuse of discretion by the district court and affirmed the judgment dismissing the action without prejudice. The full court decision can be read here.

Scarlett Pavlovich, a New Zealand citizen currently studying in the United Kingdom, filed the suit in January 2025 in the US, alleging that Gaiman sexually assaulted her multiple times in early 2022 while she worked briefly as a nanny for him and his then-wife, musician Amanda Palmer, on Waiheke Island near Auckland, New Zealand. Neil Gaiman, a British citizen with permanent residency in both New Zealand and the USA, denies the allegations. In his motion to dismiss, Gaiman's lawyer argued that the case did not belong in the USA because all events occurred in New Zealand, where both parties resided at the time. Judge Peterson concurred, noting Wisconsin's sole connection is Gaiman's current residence in Menomonie.

The dismissal of the case was, again, made without prejudice, meaning Pavlovich can refile in New Zealand, and if Gaiman refuses to be legally served there, she may move to reopen the US case. But as this dismissal states, both Gaiman and his former wife, Amanda Palmer, whom Pavlovich is pursuing a separate claim against in federal court in Massachusetts, where Palmer resides, have agreed to be sued in New Zealand. Amanda Palmer has also moved to dismiss the Massachusetts case on similar grounds to this case. That case has yet to be decided.

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